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Are India and Pakistan rivals or enemies? Despite a voluminous output of political and, in particular, historical accounts of this extraordinary and unique relationship in international politics, there has been little attempt to theorize the culture of violence between these two states. As a consequence, the study of India-Pakistan relations suffers from what the author labels historical reiteration - that is, the dispute is historicized in a way that reproduces the preconceived division of 1947. Duncan McLeod moves the debate away from historical reiteration to instead theorize on the levels, nature and culture of violence between India and Pakistan since partition and independence in 1947. He examines the politicization of culture, cultures of rivalry and conflict, enmity and unlimited conflict. The volume will appeal to students and scholars in the fields of political theory, Asian politics and political sociology.
List of contents
Contents: Introduction; Culture of friendship and the politicization of culture; Culture of rivalry and limited conflict; Culture of enmity and unlimited conflict; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
About the author
Duncan McLeod is a visiting lecturer at the University of Bristol, UK and an analyst at Africa India Development Associates.
Summary
Are India and Pakistan rivals or enemies? Despite a voluminous output of political and, in particular, historical accounts of this extraordinary and unique relationship in international politics, there has been little attempt to theorize the culture of violence between these two states. As a consequence, the study of India-Pakistan relations suffers from what the author labels historical reiteration - that is, the dispute is historicized in a way that reproduces the preconceived division of 1947. Duncan McLeod moves the debate away from historical reiteration to instead theorize on the levels, nature and culture of violence between India and Pakistan since partition and independence in 1947. He examines the politicization of culture, cultures of rivalry and conflict, enmity and unlimited conflict. The volume will appeal to students and scholars in the fields of political theory, Asian politics and political sociology.
Additional text
'Between India and Pakistan, considered to have a shared history and common culture, there have been four wars (1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999), numerous peace processes, accusations of dividing the country and supporting cross border terrorism. This book is a bold and innovative attempt to theorize this anomaly between two nuclear neighbours. A must read, for the book not only provides a fresh approach, but also raises critical questions to research further.' D. Suba Chandran, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, India 'Unlike traditional perspectives, this book provides a new and valuable insight into India-Pakistan relations through a constructivist prism. It blends a theoretical approach with historical narratives to provide an alternative interpretation of a conflict mostly analyzed in structural terms. The book fills a much needed gap in the literature by addressing questions of identity and anarchy and their transition over time.' Milind Thakar, University of Indianapolis, USA
