Implications for Theory and Practice

This chapter highlights some of the conceptual and theoretical implications of the arguments that have been made in this book. This chapter argues that the traditional theorization of escalation dynamics in South Asia does not expect the possibility of: i) autonomous military factors triggering severe ceasefire violations (CFVs); ii) CFVs triggering escalation, and; iii) accidental/inadvertent escalation to some extent. The absence of such expectations further cements the strongly held belief that escalation is controllable especially due to the existence of a general context of nuclear deterrence-induced stability. The chapter, besides highlighting the theoretical finding of the book, also discusses various measures that can be taken to control CFVs and India–Pakistan crisis escalation.