Abstract
The Kashmir dispute has been dominating the India-Pakistan relationship ever since the birth of the two states in 1947. It has also played a significant role in border disputes between China and India over Askai Chin which continues to date. Kashmir lies between three of the most populous countries of the world: India, China, and Pakistan, covering a land mass of over 80,000 square kilometres, and inhabiting over 17 million people. The struggle over the Kashmir valley has been one of the most prolonged conflicts of the last century. Since the controversial arrival of Indian forces in Kashmir on 27 October 1947, the territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been divided by a ceasefire line or Line of Control between sides, under Pakistani and Indian control respectively. Since 1947, India and Pakistan have failed to reach consensus on an agreement for the territory of Kashmir. Instead, they have fought four wars (1948, 1965, and 1971 and 1999). There have been two United Nations (UN) mandated ceasefires in 1949 and 1965 respectively and 58 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on the Kashmir dispute. Most recently on 5 August 2019, an illegal and unilateral abrogation of Article 370,35a by Modi’s government drew a tsunami of world condemnation. This dissertation employs a tri-dimensional analytical framework for an exploratory study through geopolitics, neorealism, and neoliberalism theories, relevant to the subject under discussion, to conceptualise the dynamics of this research topic...
M.A. (Politics and International Relations)