At first sight it seems that there is little in common between the security dynamics of Northeast Asia and South Asia. They are geographically situated in different parts of Eurasia. Their threat perceptions are different, being informed by their unique historical experience. These geo-strategic particularities have molded their security postures.
Both these regions are distinguished by the presence of adersarial dyads-North Korea-South Korea and Pakistan-India. These countries have single-mindedly pursued their quest for nuclear weapons, except for South Korea, that was dissuaded in its own nuclear endeavor by the United States. Consequently, the focus in this volume has been narrowed to the nuclear dimensions of the competition within these two adversarial dyads. Furthermore, attention has also been focused on the peace initiatives pursued by the two Koreas and between India and Pakistan, albeit with very limited success. Naturally, it is not possible to ignore the interactions of these adversarial dyads with the other countries in the two regions. China and Japan in Northeast Asia, and Afghanistan in South Asia are the important regional actors, apart from the United States, that inscribes a significant presence in both regions.
This comparative study of the underlying security dynamics and peace processes in Northeast and South Asia has yielded useful lessons to guide them, but is also valuable for similarly placed adversarial dyads in the international system, at present, and in future. |
