In the past two years, the world has witnessed multiple crises in regions where nuclear weapons are present: the Korean peninsula saw heightened tensions throughout 2017; China and India were involved in a major border crisis; violence between India and Pakistan on the Line of Control in Kashmir has been the highest in 15 years and the U.S. and its partners in the Middle East now face a highly uncertain future vis-à-vis Iran.
The U.S. has an innate interest in preventing nuclear war around the world. Along with other strong powers, the United States has been proactive in managing crises in nuclearized regions, most notably in South Asia, which has seen repeated bouts of escalated tensions since the end of the Cold War. Yet, as great power competition resurges and U.S. interests in Asia pit it against actors like Iran, Pakistan, and increasingly China, the U.S. role in crises in nuclearized regions may become more complicated. What implications could this have for the probability of conflict and for U.S. influence as other strong powers compete more aggressively with Washington in these theaters, including possibly using crises as opportunities to overshadow the traditional U.S. role as crisis manager?
Join the U.S. Institute of Peace on May 30 for a discussion on the opportunities, challenges, and risks of crises in regional nuclear contexts and policy options for U.S. diplomacy. Take part in the conversation on Twitter with #RethinkingDeterrance.
Register here: https://www.usip.org/events/brokering-peace-nuclear-environments
Speakers
Ambassador Joseph Yun, Senior Advisor to the Asia Center, U.S. Institute of Peace,
Lora Saalman, Vice President, East-West Institute
Feroz Khan, Research Professor, Naval Postgraduate School
Moeed Yusuf, Associate Vice President, Asia Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
Gregg Zoroya, USA Today Editorial Board