Four Crises And A Peace Process : American Engagement In South Asia

South Asia has been called one of the most dangerous regions in the world. While India and Pakistan nuclear neighbors and rivals fought the last of their three major wars in 1971 the period since then has been one long crisis punctuated by periods of peace. The long-disputed Kashmir issue continues to be both a cause and consequence of India-Pakistan hostility.

Four Crises and a Peace Process focuses on four contained conflicts on the subcontinent since 1971: the "Brasstacks" Crisis of 1986-87 the Compound Crisis of 1990 the Kargil Conflict of 1999 and the Border Confrontation Crisis of 2001-02. Each might have escalated to large-scale conflict but did not. Additionally each was linked to the introduction of nuclear weapons into the arsenals of India and Pakistan.

Four Crises and a Peace Process explains how these crises have affected regional and international policy and it evaluates the current prospects for lasting peace in South Asia