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Protracted international conflicts in South Asia: the route to intractability in the Kashmir conflict 1947-1990

Khan, Abdur Rob (1993) Protracted international conflicts in South Asia: the route to intractability in the Kashmir conflict 1947-1990. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent. (doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.94460) (KAR id:94460)

Abstract

The central concern of the thesis is a detailed analysis of protracted international conflicts (PICs) in a bid to explain how and why certain international conflicts become intractable. The manner in which a conflict becomes protracted is a fundamental question that confronts any analyst of contemporary international conflicts. Is protractedness a property of particular sorts of conflicts or is it associated with specific types of actors in a conflict? Is it a concatenation of such dimensions? Or is protractedness a product of circumstances? Moreover, protractedness may be latent, if so, it is necessary to study the actual and potential triggers that lead to a protracted state of conflict. In short, the nature of protracted conflicts has been ill-defined. It is the purpose of the thesis to develop a sharper definition of PIC and elucidate its causes, patterns and underlying processes. The present thesis has been developed in the specific context of South Asia through a case study of the Kashmir conflict, 1947-1990. In explaining the route to intractability of the conflict, specific attention has been paid to its origin in 1947 over the status of the Princely state of Kashmir, its persistence and linkage with other issues and conflicts, and its occasional flare ups in military hostilities and violence, including its latest transformation into a secessionist insurgency supplanting the inter-state conflict. The origin of a conflict has been viewed in the thesis as an outcome of a complex process of linkages and polarisation in which other conflicts, issues and actors coalesce over a salient issue. The salient issue itself may be an outcome of a prior conflictual process. Left to itself, the conflict coagulates internally and, at the same time, links up with other issues or conflicts to become intractable and resistant to resolution. The conflict may also transform itself as new issues and parties are added to the old dispute. In short, it develops a life of its own.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
Thesis advisor: Groom, A.J.R.
DOI/Identification number: 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.94460
Additional information: This thesis has been digitised by EThOS, the British Library digitisation service, for purposes of preservation and dissemination. It was uploaded to KAR on 25 April 2022 in order to hold its content and record within University of Kent systems. It is available Open Access using a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) licence so that the thesis and its author, can benefit from opportunities for increased readership and citation. This was done in line with University of Kent policies (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/strategy/docs/Kent%20Open%20Access%20policy.pdf). If you feel that your rights are compromised by open access to this thesis, or if you would like more information about its availability, please contact us at ResearchSupport@kent.ac.uk and we will seriously consider your claim under the terms of our Take-Down Policy (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/regulations/library/kar-take-down-policy.html).
Uncontrolled keywords: protracted international conflicts, Kashmir
Subjects: J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
SWORD Depositor: SWORD Copy
Depositing User: SWORD Copy
Date Deposited: 21 Mar 2023 12:58 UTC
Last Modified: 21 Mar 2023 12:58 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/94460 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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