Terrorism and Inter-State Relations in South Asia: Analyzing the Enlightenments of the Bargaining Theories of War and Peace

Abstract

Terrorism has become more troublesome and challenging for the South Asian states as it threatens
the security as well as the inter-state relations particularly of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The
study aims to explore the reasons as to why the existing counter-terrorism policies of these states
and the in-practice conflict management initiatives to curb terrorism have not been successful. It
attempts to offer a broader perspective of the relationship of terrorism and inter-state relations in
part explaining the ineffectiveness of these states against terrorism by utilizing the insights of the
bargaining theories of war and peace. This study employs the qualitative method and relies on
secondary data. The study finds that the influence of private information and the discrepancies
about the actual power status of opponent relative to one’s own capabilities makes the states more
vulnerable against terrorism. The incorrect estimation of an adversary's inclination to fight and the
inducements to misrepresent the private data on the bargaining table to get maximum benefit
creates complications in state’s commitment to resolve the issue.