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{
  "authors": [
    "Ashley J. Tellis"
  ],
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    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
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    "South Asia"
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  "regions": [
    "United States",
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  "topics": [
    "Military",
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Source: Getty

In The Media

Stability in South Asia

The most likely setting for the world's first nuclear war, observers generally agree, is South Asia.

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By Ashley J. Tellis
Published on Mar 27, 1997
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South Asia

The South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific to India’s internal dynamics and U.S. engagement with the region, the program offers in-depth, rigorous research and analysis on South Asia’s most critical challenges.

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Source: RAND Corporation

The most likely setting for the world's first nuclear war, observers generally agree, is South Asia. In a RAND study prepared for the U.S. Army, Senior Associate Ashley J. Tellis identifies several paths to conventional and perhaps nuclear war. Most alarmingly, the study finds that India and Pakistan both assume that outside powers, mainly the United States, will intervene to stop any major war on the subcontinent within two weeks after it begins. Thus, misperceptions of U.S. policy may contribute to instability and raise the possibility of nuclear use. 

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About the Author

Ashley J. Tellis

Former Senior Fellow

Ashley J. Tellis was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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Ashley J. Tellis
Former Senior Fellow
MilitaryForeign PolicyNuclear PolicyNuclear EnergyUnited StatesIndiaPakistan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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