Protracted Social Conflict in Kashmir

2017 ◽  
pp. 37-63
Author(s):  
CHE MOHD AZIZ BIN YAACOB ◽  
NOR AZURA A RAHMAN

Pergolakan antara etnik Uighur dan Kerajaan China sudah lama diperkatakan. Bermula pada tahun 1949 sehingga kini, konflik ini masih belum reda malah mengakibatkan ribuan nyawa terkorban dan harta benda musnah. Kedua-dua pihak masih memperjuangkan matlamat dan kepentingan masing-masing dan belum bersedia untuk mencari penyelesaian. Penulisan ini memfokuskan kepada pendekatan Segi tiga Konflik sebagai alternatif untuk memahami konflik yang bersifat berulang-ulang ini (Protracted Social Conflict). Terdapat tiga elemen utama dalam Pendekatan Segi tiga Konflik iaitu Situasi, Sikap dan Tingkah laku. Ketiga elemen ini saling berkaitan antara satu sama lain yang mendorong kepada turun dan naik intensiti konflik. Penulisan ini merujuk kepada sumber-sumber sekunder yang melibatkan perbincangan dalam buku, jurnal, hasil kajian, laporan media dan lain-lain lagi. Data yang diperoleh ini kemudiannya dianalisis melalui pengaplikasian elemen Segi tiga Konflik sebagai alternatif memahami konflik yang berpanjangan tersebut. Kebergantungan antara tiga elemen ini membolehkan kita memahami punca-punca konflik tersebut terperangkap di intensiti yang ekstrem. Hasil daripada pengaplikasian elemen Segi tiga Konflik ini mendapati bahawa dari sudut ‘Situasi’, konflik tersebut berlaku akibat perebutan Wilayah Xinjiang (konflik material) antara etnik Uighur dan Kerajaan China dan kini telah bertukar kepada konflik nilai (agama dan identiti) sehingga sukar dikompromi dan diselesaikan. Begitu juga dengan elemen ‘Sikap’, apabila konflik yang berpanjangan tersebut telah meningkat elemen psikologi yang tidak terkawal seperti marah, benci, cemburu, imej musuh, stereotaip dan prejudis. Akhirnya, ia membentuk elemen ‘Tingkah laku’ yang memaksa, memujuk, mengugut, ancaman, diskriminasi, asimilasi  dan pembunuhan. Salah satu contoh ialah penahanan kem pendidikan dan vokasional ke atas etnik Uighur di Xinjiang yang merupakan tingkah laku asimilasi yang melibatkan ancaman dan ugutan; ia berkaitan dengan elemen psikologi stereotaip dan double standard Kerajaan China ke atas etnik Uighur.   The unrest between the Uighurs and the Chinese government has elongated for quite a long time. Since 1949, the conflict has not subsided and resulted in thousands of lives lost and property destruction. Both sides are still fighting for their respective goals and interests, and not ready to find solutions. This paper focuses on the Galtung’s Conflict Triangle Approach as an alternative to understand this recurring conflict (Protracted Social Conflict). There are three main elements in the Conflict Triangle Approach namely Situation, Attitude and Behavior. These three elements are interconnected, leading to escalated and de-escalated of conflict intensity. This paper has made reference to secondary sources involving discussions in books, journals, research results, media reports and others. In order to understand the protracted social conflict, the data obtained are analyzed using the application of the Conflict Triangle. The interdependence between these three elements allows us to understand the causes of this conflict is trapped in extreme intensity. As a result of the application of the Conflict Triangle elements, it is found that from the ‘Situation’ point of view, there is a dispute over Xinjiang province (material conflict) between the Uighur ethnic group and the Chinese government in which has turned into a values conflict (religion and identity) that is difficult to compromise and resolve. Attitude is found as an element from the protracted social conflict which was resulted to an uncontrollable psychological element such as anger,hatred, jealousy, enemy images, stereotypes and prejudice. Eventually, it forms the behavior element of coercion, persuasion, intimidation, threats,discrimination, assimilation and murder. One example is the establishment of educational and vocational detention camps for the Uighur ethnic group in Xinjiang. The camps are part of the assimilation strategy of the government to asimilate the Uighurs. The camps are reported to execute inhuman behavior involving threats and intimidation which relate to the stereotypical psychological elements and the Chinese government’s double standard on the Uighur ethnic group.


Author(s):  
Tariq Mahmood ◽  
Muhammad Talha Malik

The ̳Newly Merged Tribal Districts‘ (NMTDs) of Pakistan have been a historic conflict zone. The area was dragged into protracted social conflict (PSC) once again after Pakistan joined the US in the global war on terror (GWOT). Successful military operations and border fencing between Pakistan and Afghanistan have significantly restricted activities of militancy and terrorism in the region; however, a major problem in conflict management is foreign intervention and lack of development in the social sector in the region. The present study aims to explore the nexus between economy and governance, and its contribution to PSC, in the case of the NMTDs. It attempts to build a cross-sectional theoretical construct of structural realism, capitalism, globalization, and PSC by Edward Azar. The concept of PSC emphasizes that lack of governance and international linkages are predominating factors in PSC. The study identifies the absence of central power in the international system allowing foreign intervention in the region while using tools of globalization; thereby, in the context of NMTDs, the war economy was generated by beneficiaries of conflict. It further argues that the lack of development in the social sector and slow rehabilitation process in the region can undermine sustainable peace.


2005 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Ramsbotham

The aim of this article is to draw attention to the work of a conflict analyst whose theory of ‘protracted social conflict’ – developed in a sustained series of publications over a twenty-year period from the early-1970s – has been neglected in mainstream international relations, strategic studies and security studies circles. The first section offers a conceptual context for assessing the originality and significance of Azar's approach. The second section outlines his theory of protracted social conflict. The third section evaluates his theory in the light of developments in conflict analysis in the 13 years since his death. The conclusion is that Azar's work does not merit such neglect and that it still offers useful pointers for an understanding of the sources of major armed conflict in the turbulent and contested arena of post-Cold War politics.


2021 ◽  
pp. 313-328
Author(s):  
Najimdeen Bakare

Soon after attaining independence on October 1, 1960, the newly created nation-state – Nigeria had to wrestle with post-independent political realities. These combined with the legacies of colonial rule, and the prevalence of ethno-religious politics, led the country into civil war in 1967. Since 1960, Nigeria has experimented with different forms of government and achieved some degree of economic growth but is still plagued by the agitation of self-determination in the form of secessionist campaigns, be it the Biafra or the Oduduwa and Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). To place the discussion in perspective, the paper reviews the existing literature on the subject and also discusses Edward Azar’s protracted social conflict (PSC) theory as the theoretical base. Upon laying the theoretical foundation, the paper situates and evaluates the agitation for self-determination in Nigeria in the light of PSC. Lastly, the paper concludes that instead of seeking self-determination or territorial disintegration, the polity of Nigeria should historically revert to the practice of congenial and connected regionalism.


1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward E. Azar ◽  
Paul Jureidini ◽  
Ronald McLaurin

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