Shooting for a Century: The India-Pakistan Conundrum by Stephen P. Cohen

Author:Stephen P. Cohen
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Published: 2013-05-28T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

EXPLANATIONS

As may be clear by now, the complexities of attitudes on the subcontinent make it very difficult to pinpoint the causes of the India-Pakistan rivalry. From the huge literature on Kashmir, it seems a prime source, but that line of thinking is like arguing that the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is primarily a struggle over Jerusalem—it is, but it is not. Also, factors that may have contributed to the origins of the rivalry can be muted, transformed, or displaced, and subsequently different explanations may fit better. For example, the vivid memories of partition that affected two generations of Indians and Pakistanis are fading, and other factors, notably the subcontinent's nuclearization, have grown in importance.

Numerous studies have also examined the historical and cultural roots of the dispute, the regional wars and crises, possible solutions, or ways to promote normal relations through diplomacy or Track II activities.1 One large conclusion such analyses point to, as noted in a recent comprehensive overview, is that the rivalry is both enduring and asymmetric. Pakistan is clearly the smaller and theoretically weaker state, but it has been able to compensate by a number of military, strategic, and diplomatic means.2 Why and how Pakistan has managed this, and the impact of its resistance on India, is one axis of their complex relationship.

Today the relationship is influenced by important “Westphalian” issues: concerns of both states that the other is violating Westphalian norms by their behavior, notably the use of terrorism, subversion, and propaganda and the reluctance to negotiate. The overlap between the two makes it hard for them to treat each other as unitary entities, or like political billiard balls. The overlap also makes it easier to meddle. It is these issues that have come to dominate recent dialogues.

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