Category: Kashmir

An op-ed by Howard B. Schaffer and Teresita C. Schaffer on the necessity of the United States to get involved in Kashmir, in light of Kashmiris’ protests against the Indian government.

The United States has not paid much attention to Kashmir for the past few years, confident that an active India-Pakistan peace process would prevent any crises on that front. It no longer enjoys that luxury. If the current unrest leads to another India-Pakistan confrontation, the whole area from Afghanistan through India will be affected, with critical U.S. interests in play.

Originally published by the Washington Times on September 3, 2008.

Teresita C. Schaffer’s book review of Navnita Chadha Behera’s Demystifying Kashmir.

Kashmir is the best-known dispute between India and Pakistan, yet Kashmir itself—its people, history, and problems—is remarkably little known outside a small group of specialists. Navnita Chadha Behera’s book, along with an earlier work, State, Identity and Violence: Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, is a most welcome remedy to this gap.

Originally published by the Brookings Institution Press in 2007. Read the entire review.

A report by Teresita C. Schaffer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ South Asia Program with the Kashmir Study Group.

The Kashmir problem is the most intractable part of the dispute between India and Pakistan. In the past five decades, scholars and statesmen have analyzed the political dimensions of the problem many times over and have tried to solve it or at least to manage it. The economics of the problem have received much less attention.

Originally published by CSIS in December 2005. Read the summary or the entire report.

Order a paper version of the entire report.

A chapter written by Howard B. Schaffer and Teresita C. Schaffer in Grasping the Nettle: Analyzing Cases of Intractable Conflict, edited by Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall and published by the United States Institute of Peace Press in February 2005.

An article by Teresita C. Schaffer expressing cautious optimism for the continuation of a tenuous ceasefire in Kashmir.

The year 2000 ended on a hopeful note in Kashmir, with India’s ceasefire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan being extended until January 26. The principal Kashmiri political umbrella group seems interested in a dialogue with New Delhi, and the Pakistan military has withdrawn some forces from the Line of Control separating them from Indian units. All three constituencies now must consider who will talk, about what, and how they can continue the momentum. Discreet diplomatic encouragement from the United States has helped the process thus far, but the heavy lifting needs to be done in Delhi, Islamabad and Srinagar.

Originally published in the Center for Strategic & International Studies‘ South Asia Monitor on January 1, 2001. Read the entire article.