Relations internationales

C09(c) - China & Taiwan, India & Pakistan

Date: Jun 4 | Heure: 08:30am to 10:00am | Salle: SJA-324A

Chair/Président/Présidente : Aisha Ahmad (University of Toronto)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Saira Bano (Thomspon Rivers University)

Global Power Dynamics and Irredentist Behaviour of Rising Powers: A Comparative Study of China and India Sagheer Khan, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan Memory, Identity, and Rivalry: The Historical Roots of India-Pakistan Enduring Rivalry Muhammad Arif Khan, Federal Urdu University of Arts Science and Technology, Karachi Joint Military Exercises and Soft Power Rizwan Asghar, Trinity College Dublin Jesse Dillon Savage, Trinity College Dublin Otilia Maria Machuca Campos, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaio Analyse du Conflit Sino-taiwanais dans le Cadre de la Politique de l’Appartenance

Joint military exercises and soft power: Rizwan Asghar (Trinity College Dublin)
Abstract: The goals of joint military exercises are predominantly security-oriented and aimed at elites in partner states. However, they are also prominent demonstrations of power and status. We explore if and how joint military exercises might have positive or negative externalities in the domain of public diplomacy and soft power, along with their direct effects on military matters. We test for effects on public opinion toward the partner state using two approaches. First, to test the generalizability of any effects, we use an “unexpected event” design, leveraging surveys that occurred simultaneously with joint military exercises. To probe the mechanisms and scope of effects, we use preregistered survey experiments on a nationally representative sample from Pakistan. These experiments manipulate the threat context and partner state. The findings of the study have the potential to understand nuanced effects of joint military exercises and evaluate the plausibility of using such exercises as a tool of public diplomacy. The results also help us understand potential trade-offs great powers are making as they pursue their security agendas.

Memory, Identity, and Rivalry: The Historical Roots of India-Pakistan Enduring Rivalry: Muhammad Arif Khan (Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Karachi)
Abstract: The relationship between India and Pakistan is one of the most complex and enduring rivalries in international relations deeply rooted in a shared yet contentious history. Since the partition in 1947 historical narratives have significantly shaped the political, social, and cultural dimensions of India-Pakistan relations. This paper explores how historical legacies, collective memory, and contrasting historical narratives have both divided and, at times, briefly united the two nations. It examines the role of colonial legacies, the impact of partition trauma, and the way national histories have been constructed in each country to foster unique and often conflicting identities. Partition remains a traumatic chapter in both countries with millions displaced and significant violence affecting generations. This shared history has led to a “memory politics” where past grievances continue to fuel tensions over territorial disputes, like those in Kashmir, and influence perceptions of national security and sovereignty. History textbooks, media portrayals, and political rhetoric have reinforced adversarial perceptions, often overshadowing shared cultural and linguistic ties. The paper also explores efforts at reconciliation through Track II diplomacy, cultural exchanges and the limited moments of diplomatic détente. However, these efforts are frequently undermined by historical narratives that emphasize victimhood, betrayal and suspicion. Through an analysis of these historical influences this study argues that any sustainable improvement in India-Pakistan relations requires addressing the historical grievances and evolving narratives that have long defined the bilateral relationship. In conclusion, the paper underscores the role of history as both a barrier and potential bridge in India-Pakistan relations. Understanding and reframing historical narratives could offer pathways for dialogue and cooperation, moving beyond entrenched hostilities toward a more stable and peaceful future in South Asia.

Repoliticizing the Anti-Politics Machine: Development, Expertise, and Ethnic Politics in Sri Lanka: Uvin Dissanayake (McGill University)
Abstract: Since the publication of James Ferguson’s 1990 book of the same title, the image of the development industry as an ‘anti-politics machine’ has become the dominant analytical metaphor in development studies. Indeed, the idea of development as depoliticizing is prevalent not only in critical literature but increasingly in mainstream development management theory, with frameworks like ‘Adaptive Management’ and ‘Doing Development Differently’ being proposed to better incorporate politics in development practice. I argue that this metaphor and the theoretical consensus surrounding it is misleading. This paper puts forward a theory of repoliticization in development, understood as a process by which development practices reveal the contingency of a given socio-political arrangement, challenging a consensus that has allowed for it to be naturalized. I use practice tracing methods to explore how different groups of development actors, namely the Sri Lankan military and 'international development' practitioners, engage back and forth in processes of repoliticization and depoliticization on behalf of rival ordering projects. To do so, I examine the ethnic politics of the Mahaweli Development Program, an irrigation project implemented to make use of Sri Lanka’s largest river, from 1977 to the present. I show how processes of ‘rendering technical' in development practice, commonly understood as part and parcel of depoliticization, can instead generate political contestation. By questioning this assumed opposition between the political and the technical, I hope to show how the concept of repoliticization can help us better understand the effects of development practice on the societies that are the objects of its intervention.