India and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime The Perennial Outlier

The book is a comprehensive study of India's relationship with the non-proliferation regime, and its transformative evolution from a perennial outlier to one seeking greater integration with the regime and its normative structures. The highlight of this study is its incisive conceptual analysis of the regime as a functional system and its structural complexities, which brings forth new insights on the regime's core ideas like non-proliferation and counter-proliferation. The book also provides an extensive non-Western narrative on the concept of counter-proliferation and its conceivable role and influence in the regime. It breaks new ground in explaining India's quest for an anti-proliferation strategy, which could determine its status and future in the emerging global nuclear order. It will be a substantial contribution to the literature on India's approach towards non-proliferation, counter-proliferation and disarmament, and will enhance the understanding of the impact of the regime's normative structures on India's nuclear decisions.

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. From non-proliferation to counter-proliferation: the regime's conceptual crisis; 3. The state and the regime: the complex interplay of actors, norms and interests; 4. India, NPT and the non-proliferation regime; 5. The routes to nuclear disarmament: an Indian perspective; 6. Counter-proliferation: the quest for an Indian strategy; 7. India's participation in the proliferation security initiative: the counter-proliferation case study; 8. India's role in global anti-proliferation: the post nuclear deal agenda; 9. Conclusion; Select bibliography; Index.

A. Vinod Kumar is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, where he specializes in nuclear policy issues, including counter-proliferation, missile defence and nuclear energy. Earlier, he worked with the Indian Pugwash Society for a Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) project on India's Role in the Emerging Global Nuclear Order. He has published extensively and writes regularly for acclaimed publications including The National Interest, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Strategic Analysis, The Nonproliferation Review, and the Asia Times, among others. Kumar coordinates the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP) at IDSA and has spearheaded an unprecedented archival mining campaign as part of research on India's nuclear history.