Confidence Building Measures and Security Cooperation in South Asia : Challenges in the New Century

Contents: Preface. 1. The need for confidence building measures and security cooperation in South Asia/Mohammad Humayun Kabir. 2. CBMs and security cooperation between India and Pakistan: an Indian perspective/S.D. Muni. 3. CBMs and India-Pakistan relations/Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema. 4. CBMs and security cooperation in South Asia: the India-Pakistan military dimension/Amitabh Mattoo. 5. The role of CBMs in managing Indo-Pakistan security relationship: reflections on the crucial challenges/A.K.M. Abdus Sabur. 6. CBMs and security cooperation in South Asia: Nepal\'s security concerns/Nishchal Nath Pandey. 7. Security problems of Bhutan: confidence building measures/Tashi Choden. 8. CBMs and security cooperation in South Asia: India-Sri Lanka context/T.P. Frank De Silva. 9. Confidence building and security cooperation in South Asia: the role of civil society/Amena Mohsin. 10. CBMs in South Asia and the role of the media/Sugeeswara Senadhira. 11. CBMs and CSBMs in Europe: drawing on the Helsinki process/Reinhard Bettzuege. 12. The organization for security and cooperation in Europe: relevance for South Asia/Christian Wagner. 13. CBMs and security cooperation in South Asia: US perspectives (Pakistan-India relations and US policy)/Fahmida Ashraf. 14. Confidence building measures and cooperation in South Asia: reflections on the Chinese perspective/Abul Kalam. 15. Institutionalising trust and communication: military CBMs and security cooperation within "A SAARC with Teeth"/Karan R. Sawhny and Nidhi Narain. 16. The highest stake and hard choice: challenges to institutionalizing CBMs and security cooperation in South Asia/Dhruba Kumar Sreshtha. 17. Institutionalising CBMs and security cooperation in South Asia/Shaheen Akhtar.

"The book Confidence Building Measures and Security Cooperation in South Asia: Challenges in the New Century is a study on the imperative for confidence building in a conflict-ridden region like South Asia, the profile of the existing confidence building measures in the region, the possibility of drawing on relevant experiences in Europe, and on how to institutionalize attempts at confidence building and security cooperation in South Asia. The book deals with the concepts of confidence building and Confidence Building Measures (CBMs). As inter-state relations in South Asia have historically been characterised by endemic conflicts and mistrust, the book highlights the need for engaging in such a process and adopting such measures that would reduce tensions and build trust and communication channels in the region. The focus of the book has been on how to evolve cooperative relations in South Asia. As SAARC has not yet made any impressive progress, some authors have argued in the book that the approach to and scope of cooperation in South Asia need to be refocused on confidence and security building first and then on socio-economic issues. Some of the experiences of CBMs and CSBMs in European context have been reviewed with a view to understanding their relevance to South Asian setting. Finally, the book discusses how bilateral and regional CBMs and CSBMs could be institutionalised and strengthened in South Asia." (jacket)