The saffron factor and the Kashmir problem : communalism, the weak state, and international brinkmanship
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Political Science, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Laliberté, André
issued: 2009-01-05T23:08:40Z
issued: 1992
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This study looks at one instance of the security predicaments faced by many states in the Third World: primordialist challenges based on ethnicity, language or religion. More specifically, it discusses the impact of Hindu communalist organizations, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on one issue of Indian domestic politics which is linked with its foreign policy: the problem of secessionism in Kashmir, which is allegedly supported by Pakistan. The thesis stated here is that while the BJP may represent a factor likely to complicate the task of the Indian state in its efforts to ensure socio-political cohesiveness over a culturally fragmented polity, the influence of that movement is very limited in sensitive areas of national security like foreign policy. The first chapter reviews the literature on conflicts in South Asia, with reference to Kashmir and the role played by Hindu communalist organizations. This overview identifies a methodological difficulty limiting our understanding of this conflict: the Euro-centric bias of the discipline of international relations theory. This bias is expressed by a tendency to overlook a major source of in security within most Third World states: the lack of socio-political cohesiveness. The continuum from strong to weak states established by Barry Buzan is brought forward in an attempt to over come this methodological difficulty because it points to the low degree of socio-political cohesive ness in weak states as a problem generating high levels of violence within and between states. As such, it seems relevant to analyze the impact of domestic cleavages on foreign policy-making. The second chapter presents the contradiction between communal and secular nationalism in India as a fundamental political cleavage with repercussions for Indian foreign policy. The nature of Hindu communalism is explored through a presentation of its origins, its scope and its political philosophy. The divisive potential of this world-view is e…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/3363
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note: THE SAFFRON FACTOR AND TBE KASHMIR PROBLEM:COMMUNALISM, THE WEAK STATE, AND INTERNATIONAL BRINKMANSHIPbyANDRÉ LALIBERTEB.A. University of Québec at Montréal, 1991A THESIS SUBMITIED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OFTHE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OFMASTER OF ARTSinTHE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIESDepartment of Political ScienceWe accept this thesis as conformingto the required standardTHE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIASeptember 1992© André LalibertéIn presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanceddegree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make itfreely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensivecopying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of mydepartment or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying orpublication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my writtenpermission.Department of political scienceThe University of British ColumbiaVancouver, CanadaDate Sptmhr 27. 1992DE-6 (2/88)ABSTRACTThis study looks at one instance of the security predicaments faced by many states in the ThirdWorld: primordialist challenges based on ethnicity, language or religion. More specifically, it discusses the impact of Hindu communalist organizations, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), on one issue of Indian domestic politics which is linked with its foreign policy: the problemof secessionism in Kashmir, which is allegedly supported by Palcistan. The thesis stated here isthat while the BJP may represent a factor likely to complicate the task of the Indian state in its efforts to ensure socio-political cohesiveness over a culturally fragmented polity, the influence of thatmovement is very limited in sensitive areas of national security like foreign policy.The first chapter reviews the literature on conflicts in South Asia, with reference to Kashmirand the role played by Hindu communalist organizations. This overview…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 1992-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0086713
language: eng
degree discipline: Political Science
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/3363