NPS News Profile:

NPS Professor Offers Prolific Insight to Nuclear Deterrence

By Seaman John R. Fischer
Mass Communication Specialist
Thursday, November 13, 2008

Members of the Naval Postgraduate School faculty have once again displayed their mental might through contributed chapters to the recently published book, The Long Shadow: Nuclear Weapons and Security in 21st Century Asia.

Feroz Khan, currently a Lecturer in the Department of National Security Affairs here, co-authored the chapter “Pakistan: The Dilemma of Nuclear Deterrence” along with former faculty member Dr. Peter R. Lavoy, who served as Director of the Center for Contemporary Conflict and Senior Lecturer in the Department of National Security Affairs during his time at NPS.

Dr. James J. Wirtz, Dean for the School of International Graduate Studies and Professor in the NSA Department, also contributed to The Long Shadow with a chapter discussing the United States’ Nuclear Policy; and Dr. S. Paul Kapur, an Associate Professor in the NSA wrote a chapter discussing the prospects of nuclear terrorism across Asia.

“The principal theme for the ‘Deterrence’ chapter was the brainchild of Dr. Lavoy,” claimed Khan. “He and I worked hard to identify roles of nuclear weapons in national security and how nuclear weapons influence or not influence in matters of national security.”

Khan retired from the Pakistan Army as a Brigadier General, and had last served as the Director for Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs within the Strategic Plans Division at Joint Services Headquarters.

The discussion throughout the book is on the cascading effect of security and nuclear proliferation, explained Khan. “This competition is intense in South Asia. It’s real – the issues are real.

“There is a context to a country’s acquiring of nuclear weapons,” said Khan. “This book is not focused on addressing nuclear proliferation. It looks into the role of nuclear weapons in security and looks into other aspects of nuclear weapons: what it means to be a nuclear power; how does it affect security strategies and regional power balance; and what impact does it have upon system shifts in international relations.

“In regard to its focus, this book - and specifically this chapter - contributes to adding new literature to the debate about the efficacy of nuclear weapons in the 21st century,” Khan said.

Khan expressed his excitement to be included on the project. “It’s a matter of pride to be with the top-of-the-line authors selected to write for this volume.”

He explained that every author who contributed to The Long Shadow is highly rated and highly recruited internationally in the field of nuclear weapons.

“It is my honor to be writing alongside people like Jim Wirtz, Peter Lavoy, Paul Kapur, Devin Hagerty, Avner Cohen and others,” Khan said. “All the authors are very carefully selected by the editor, Muthiah Alagappa. We went through two review conferences and an editing review process by Stanford University Press, which took more than two years.

“Personally speaking as a retired military officer now becoming a scholar this is quite an addition and credit to the reputation that I am trying to build in this community,” said Khan of the opportunity to offer his writing to The Long Shadow.

Khan also contributed in 2006 to The Nonproliferation Review, a journal written at NPS projecting ten years into the future of the world of nuclear weapons.

Khan plans to finish his own book in early spring of 2009, and is expecting the book to be published the same year.

Feroz Khan, Lecturer in the Department of National Security Affairs