The India-Pakistan Conflict: An Enduring Rivalry, T.V. Paul,
ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
The rivalry between India and Pakistan has clearly been both deep and
enduring. The two sides have fought four wars since attaining independence
in 1947, and have waged a low-intensity conflict in the disputed territory
of Kashmir since the late 1980s. And despite recent improvements in
Indo-Pakistani relations, their fundamental political and territorial
disagreements remain unresolved. However, it is not obvious why
the two countries' relationship has been so stubbornly antagonistic.
The India-Pakistan Conflict: An Enduring Rivalry, edited by T.V.
Paul, addresses this issue. Specifically, the volume asks: Why has the
Indo-Pakistani rivalry been so persistent, even compared to other
long-standing conflicts? How have factors at the international, state and
leadership levels contributed to this outcome? And why are the prospects
for achieving a negotiated settlement of the rivalry so dim?