Since 1988, the states of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in conflict over the enclave of Nagorno Karabakh. The conflict has developed into one of the most intractable and complicated disputes in the international arena, with the main parties being the two rivalling sovereign states plus the 'unrecognised state' of Nagorno Karabakh. Despite the optimistic statements and claims by the OSCE and after many years of negotiations and talks, the peace process remains in stalemate. The research argues the virtues of Track Two diplomacy and highlights the successful instances where it has made important contributions to the 'official' or Track One diplomatic process. It also explores the potential of a 'no war no peace' situation by discerning the factors influencing the progress of the conflict. The research shows that a deeper understanding of the obstacles to peace is achieved by appreciating the significance of historical events as well as recognising the motives and interests of the different parties. The study reviews all major factors which have led to the failure of resolution efforts, particular the negative role played by Russia. It concludes that the scholars in the field of conflict resolution can bring about a lasting peace to this region, provided there is a fundamental change in the structure of the co-chairs of the OSCE.

This research develops a new concept for people-to-people contacts, formulates a theoretical model to assess the impact of people-to-people contacts on peacebuilding, and draws theoretical modifications and explanations in the model on the basis of its empirical application on India-Pakistan conflict and Northern Ireland conflict. The new concept of interactive people-to-people contacts (IPPC) is developed and it is differentiated from the similar concepts in peace theory. Then ontological and epistemological foundations of IPPC are determined and the roots of IPPC in peace and conflict theories are traced. To empirically assess the role played by IPPC in building peace, the web approach model is developed from Lederach’s “pyramid” of peacebuilding as formulated in Building Peace (1997) and later improved in The Moral Imagination (2005). The web approach model is applied on Northern Ireland conflict to empirically test the web approach model and make improvements in the model learning from the practice of IPPC in Northern Ireland conflcit. Then web approach model is applied on two selected case studies of PIPFPD and Aman ki Asha to empirically asses the role played by IPPC in building peace between India and Pakistan. The web approach model is used to determine the stage/frame of the web process where IPPC based peacebuilding have reached so far in India-Pakistan conflict. Moreover, theoretical modifications in web approach model are drawn learning from the selected case studies and an attempt is made to find out a way forward for IPPC based peacebuilding in India-Pakistan conflict.

Russia and the US have both articulated their willingness to develop a regime for counter cyberterrorism. Yet, to date, they have been unsuccessful in following through with this goal. Their failure to form such a regime can best be explained through the lens of social constructivism, and most specifically, through the concept of strategic culture, given that such an approach allows for the examination of ideological, historical, and cultural issues that have shaped the strategy choices of both countries. Russia and the US have successfully formed regimes with other countries in which issues of counter cyberterrorism come to play. Russia has entered into agreements with BRICS and with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The US has involved itself in cybersecurity regimes both with its NATO allies and with its Latin American and Caribbean allies. Russia and the US have furthermore entered into a number of agreements with each other, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Intermediate- Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and New-START. A strategic culture perspective, which focuses primarily on historical factors, such as a history of invasion or lack thereof, and the relations of both countries with their respective neighbors, reveals how the discourse of human rights and the freedoms of...

Since 1988, the states of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in conflict over the enclave of Nagorno Karabakh. The conflict has developed into one of the most intractable and complicated disputes in the international arena, with the main parties being the two rivalling sovereign states plus the ¿unrecognised state¿ of Nagorno Karabakh. Despite the optimistic statements and claims by the OSCE and after many years of negotiations and talks, the peace process remains in stalemate. The research argues the virtues of Track Two diplomacy and highlights the successful instances where it has made important contributions to the ¿official¿ or Track One diplomatic process. It also explores the potential of a ¿no war no peace¿ situation by discerning the factors influencing the progress of the conflict. The research shows that a deeper understanding of the obstacles to peace is achieved by appreciating the significance of historical events as well as recognising the motives and interests of the different parties. The study reviews all major factors which have led to the failure of resolution efforts, particular the negative role played by Russia. It concludes that the scholars in the field of conflict resolution can bring about a lasting peace to this region, provided there is a fundamental change in the structure of the co-chairs of the OSCE.

This research develops a new concept for people-to-people contacts, formulates a theoretical model to assess the impact of people-to-people contacts on peacebuilding, and draws theoretical modifications and explanations in the model on the basis of its empirical application on India-Pakistan conflict and Northern Ireland conflict. The new concept of interactive people-to-people contacts (IPPC) is developed and it is differentiated from the similar concepts in peace theory. Then ontological and epistemological foundations of IPPC are determined and the roots of IPPC in peace and conflict theories are traced. To empirically assess the role played by IPPC in building peace, the web approach model is developed from Lederach’s “pyramid” of peacebuilding as formulated in Building Peace (1997) and later improved in The Moral Imagination (2005). The web approach model is applied on Northern Ireland conflict to empirically test the web approach model and make improvements in the model learning from the practice of IPPC in Northern Ireland conflcit. Then web approach model is applied on two selected case studies of PIPFPD and Aman ki Asha to empirically asses the role played by IPPC in building peace between India and Pakistan. The web approach model is used to determine the stage/frame of the web process where IPPC based peacebuilding have reached so far in India-Pakistan conflict. Moreover, theoretical modifications in web approach model are drawn learning from the selected case studies and an attempt is made to find out a way forward for IPPC based peacebuilding in India-Pakistan conflict. / Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in UK

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The overall purpose of this dissertation is to provide an empirical study of the post-Cold War EastAsian security setting, with the aim of understanding why there is an East Asian peace. The EastAsian peace exists in a region with a history of militarised conflicts, home to many of the world'slongest ongoing militarised problems and a number of unresolved critical flashpoints. Thus, thepost-Cold War East Asian inter-state peace is a paradox. Despite being a region predicted to be ripefor conflict, there have not only been less wars than expected, but the region also shows severalsigns of a development towards a more durable peace. The dominant research paradigm –neorealism – has painted a gloomy picture of post-Cold War East Asia, with perpetual conflictsdominating the predictions. Other mainstream international relations theories, too, fail to accountfully for the relative peace. One of the greatest problems for mainstream theories, is accounting forpeace given East Asia's lack of security organisations or other formalised conflict managementmechanisms. Given this paradox/problem, this dissertation sets out to ask "Why is there a relativepeace in the East Asian security setting despite an absence of security organisations or otherformalised mechanisms to prevent existing conflicts from escalating into violence?" In order to answer this question, the case of East Asian peace is approached by comparingthree embedded case studies within the region: the Taiwan issue, the South China Sea, and theKorean nuclear conflict. It explores the full range of informal and formal processes plus the ConflictPrevention and Peacebuilding Mechanisms (CPPBMs) that have been important for the creation ofa continuing relative peace in East Asia between 1990 and 2008. The study furthermore focuses onChina's role in the three cases, on an empirical basis consisting of interviews conducted with keypersons during more than 1.5 years fieldwork in China. The three cases show that informal processes exist, and that they have furthermore beenimportant for peace, both by preventing conflicts from escalating into war, and by buildingconditions for a stable longer-term peace. Their impact on the persistence of peace has been tracedto a range of different CPPBMs. Returning to the level of the East Asian case, a common feature ofmany of the identified processes is that they can be understood as aspects or manifestations of theEast Asian regionalisation process. Specifically, elite interactions (personal networks, track twodiplomacy), back-channel negotiations, economic interdependence and integration, and functionalcooperation have together with (China's acceptance of) multilateralism and institutionalisation (ofpeaceful relations) been of high importance for the relative peace. Whereas formalised conflictmanagement mechanisms and the U.S. presence have also contributed to peace, this dissertationshows their contribution to be much more limited.