Paper
Ashley J. Tellis
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"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "SAP",
"programs": [
"South Asia"
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"regions": [
"United States",
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"topics": [
"Military",
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"Nuclear Policy",
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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.
Published on Mar 27, 1997
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.
- Multipolar Dreams, Bipolar Realities: India’s Great Power Future
- India Sees Opportunity in Trump’s Global Turbulence. That Could Backfire.Commentary
Ashley J. Tellis
Recent Work
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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