"New Delhi's Long Nuclear Journey: How Secrecy and Institutional Roadblocks Delayed India's Weaponization"

Indian Army officer stands near a Prithvi missile carried on display during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, on Jan. 26, 2005.

Ajit Kumar/ AP

Journal Article, International Security, volume 38, issue 4, pages 79-114

Spring 2014

Author: Gaurav Kampani

Belfer Center Programs or Projects: Quarterly Journal: International Security

SUMMARY

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, many international observers came to perceive India as a de facto nuclear power. New evidence shows, however, that India lacked the technical means to deliver nuclear weapons reliably until 1994–95. Further, political leaders did not render the weapons militarily operational until 1999. These deficiencies can be traced to a regime of secrecy stemming from Indian decisionmakers’ fear of international pressures for nuclear rollback.

Full text: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/isec/38/4