Four Crises and a Peace Process ─ American Engagement in South Asia

Four Crises and a Peace Process focuses on four contained conflicts on the subcontinent since 1971: the "Brasstacks" Crisis of 1986-87, the Compound Crisis of 1990, the Kargil Conflict of 1999, and the Border Confrontation Crisis of 2001-02. Each might have escalated to large-scale conflict but did not. Additionally, each was linked to the introduction of nuclear weapons into the arsenals of India and Pakistan.
Authors P. R. Chari, Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema, and Stephen P. Cohen examine the underlying causes and effects of these four crises, along with the sub-sequent peace processes. They discuss the policy implications of each conflict, drawing lessons and explaining America's role. Looking for larger trends of peace and conflict in the region, the authors consider these incidents as cases of attempted conflict resolution, as instances of limited war by nuclear-armed nations, and as examples of intervention and engagement by the United States and China. They analyze the reactions of Indian, Pakistani, and U.S. media and assess the two countries' decisionmaking processes.
Four Crises and a Peace Process explains how these crises have affected regional and international policy, and it evaluates the current prospects for lasting peace in South Asia.

Stephen P. Cohen is senior fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution.