Indo-Pakistan Cross-border conflict and Problems of Communication = Lessons for Inter‐Korean Negotiations

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper aims to demystify persistent communication bottlenecks emanating from the partition of Indian sub-continent and subsequent Indo-Pakistan cross-border conflict and derives an insight to resolve inter-Korean communication issues. In the past, various agreements and high level meetings such as Tashkent Agreement 1962, Indus River Water Treaty 1962, Simla Agreement 1972, establishment of Indo-Pakistan Joint Commission in 1982, Islamabad Summit 1988, Lahore Summit 1999, and Agra Summit 2001, have provided peacemeal success in the bilateral negotiation process; however in the recent times, deadlock seems to be the hallmark of inter-state communication leading to war-like skirmishes such as Kargil conflict (1999), missile as well as nuclear arms race, and Mumbai-like terrorist attacks originating from the Pakistani soil. We argue that success in resolving standoff in the Indo-Pak negotiations requires unfreezing of ‘cognitive rigidity’ that has negatively affected the dynamics of bilateral communication. The realignment in the cognitive schemes can possibly pave the way for a new mind set to emerge in the region that can be helpful in sorting-out nagging communication issues between the two arch-rivals.
Literature that deals with the issue tends to focus on political, religious and to some extent economic calculus affecting bilateral communication; however it largely ignores the underlying cognitive rigidity that has drained attitudinal flexibility by freezing perspectives and mindsets. Theoretically, ‘cognitive scheme theory’ has been used to unravel the invisible dynamics of Indo-Pak negotiations. Empirically, the 2001 Agra Summit Meeting between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been analyzed to demonstrate how rigid cognitive schemes gave a final blow to negotiations that finally ended in utter failure.
On the policy level, removing the persistent cognitive rigidities between two neighbors requires visionary leadership that can project sub-continents’ harmonious future over its tumultuous past by addressing issues related to antagonistic identity patterns deeply rooted in the age-old Hindu-Muslim religious discord resulting in the painful partition of the Indian sub-continent. The analysis points to the fact that the unfreezing of cognitive rigidities can provide clues to resolve some of inter Korean issues.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Record of Indo-Pakistan Cross-border Communication
• 3. India’s Traditional Negotiating Framework
• 4. Pakistan’s Traditional Negotiating Framework
• 5. Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) and Cross-Border Communication
• 6. Theoretical Rationale
• 7. Cognitive Rigidity, Communication Disjunctions and Agra Summit
• 8. Lessons for Inter-Korean Negotiations
• 9. Conclusion
• References