Perpetuating The Kashmir Imbroglio Edward Azar’s Protracted Social Conflict Theory and The Interplay of Communal Identities, Human Needs Deprivation, And External Interventions

บทคัดย่อ

This paper applies the Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) theory, as developed by Edward Azar, to examine the Kashmir conflict, arguing that it is a paradigmatic example of identity-motivated, needs-based conflict perpetuated by governance failures and international connections. The research employs qualitative documentary research, drawing on primary and secondary sources, to investigate how the Kashmir case between 1947 and 2025 reflects four key variables of Azar (communal content, human needs deprivation, governance and state role, and international linkages). The evidence shows that the partitioning of colonies established hard Hindu-Muslim communal borders, which autocrats later used to organise political forces. The denial of security, identity and participatory needs as systemic violence makes the grievance cycles continue, and the centralisation of the administration in India and the proxy Pakistan support has delegitimised the state structures. External interventions such as cross-border terrorism and the involvement of great powers have caused internationalised local tensions. Upon reviewing the analysis, it becomes clear that Kashmir exhibits all four PSC preconditions in their most severe manifestations, which explains why traditional diplomatic techniques have not yielded a solution. The article is important to conflict studies because it not only generalises the PSC theory to South Asian nuclear-armed confrontations but also shows that cross-border terrorism serves as a linkage mechanism to the international system, converting bilateral conflicts into regional security threats. The implications are that to achieve sustainable transformation, it is necessary to consider all four variables simultaneously by providing inclusive governance reforms, satisfying human needs, and maintaining independence from external spoilers.