After the freeze

Great Powers and South Asia: Post-Cold War Trends

by Maqbool A. Bhatty

Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad, 1996

247 pages

One of the significant factors about the end of the Cold War has been that the United States is increasingly replacing military force with non-military persuasion, or the threat of it, to make other nations comply with its own stance. Equally significant is its emphasis in preventing any potential conflict rather than in finding long-term peaceful solutions.

Keeping in mind the standoff between India and Pakistan, this changed perception of US security has an increased bearing. Maqbool Bhatty, in Great Powers and South Asia: Post-Cold War Trends, urges that the foreign policies of the big powers have to be understood in order to appreciate Pakistan's stance on various issues, from Kashmir to nuclear non-proliferation.

The new world order, in which the United States does remain the dominant world power, is also seeing the emergence of China and Japan as other power centres. Their ability to influence the security and economic atmosphere in the country is all the more reason to study their agenda, Mr Bhatty argues. The author feels that Islamabad will have to develop stronger relations with Beijing. Besides China's enhanced role on the world stage, the counterweight provided by it to India's influence in South Asia is more to be desired than ever, says the former Pakistani ambassador to China.