The independent resource on global security

Military Capacity and the Risk of War: China, India, Pakistan and Iran

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ISBN 0-19-829281-3
1997
Oxford University Press

When does the legitimate application of military technology to the problem of national defence become needlessly provocative? What obstacles must developing countries overcome if they hope to use military technology effectively? And when might military technology itself become a cause of conflict? This book addresses these questions in the context of four particularly important states: China, India, Pakistan and Iran. Military Capacity and the Risk of War represents the effort of a unique group to put aside unhelpful national rhetoric as well as conventional academic thinking. Contributions from Iran give a valuable insight into the emergent viewpoints in that country, as well as the opportunities for arms control and confidence building in the Persian Gulf. Chapters on topics of military and technological interest combine the expertise of natural scientists, military professionals and social scientists specializing in cultural aspects of technology transfer.

 

 

Key findings:

 

Table of contents

1. Beyond threat perception: assessing military capacity and reducing the risk of war in southern Asia

Eric Arnett


 

2. Threat perception and military planning in China: domestic instability and the importance of prestige

Di Hua

Appendix 2A. Russian weapons and military technologies of interest to the PLA

Di Hua


 

3. Military technology and doctrine in Chinese military planning: compensating for obsolescence

Paul H. B. Godwin


 

4. Chinese military capacity: industrial and operational weaknesses

Norman Friedman


 

5. Arms procurement in China: poorly understood processes and unclear results

Wendy Frieman


 

6. Military technology and absorptive capacity in China and India: implications for modernization

Erik Baark


 

7. Arms procurement in India: military self-reliance versus technological self-sufficiency

Raju G. C. Thomas


 

8. Threat perception and military planning in Pakistan: the impact of technology, doctrine and arms control

Ross Masood Husain


 

9. Arms procurement in Pakistan: balancing the needs for quality, self-reliance and diversity of supply

Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema


 

10. Arms production in Iran and Pakistan: the limits of self-reliance

Yezid Sayigh


 

11. Threat perception and military planning in Iran: credible scenarios of conflict and opportunities for confidence building

Saideh Lotfian


 

12. Iranian science and technology: implications of ideology and the experience of war for military research and development

Ahmed Hashim


 

13. Arms procurement in Iran: ad hoc decision making and ambivalent decision makers

Shahram Chubin


 

14. Military research and development in southern Asia: limited capabilities despite impressive resources

Eric Arnett


 

15. Arms exports to southern Asia: policies of technology transfer and denial in the supplier countries

Ian Anthony


 

16. Maritime forces and stability in southern Asia

Eric Grove


 

17. Technology, civil-military relations and warfare in southern Asia

Stephen Biddle and Robert Zirkle

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)/EDITORS