Abstract
Abstract Modern conflicts have grown increasingly complex, characterized more by intrastate dynamics than traditional interstate warfare, and marked by fluid, evolving situations rather than fixed, static conditions. What this paper explores is this change in the nature of conflict in the region of Jammu and Kashmir, a region that has been long locked in a conflict over the control of the territory between India and Pakistan. The conflict in Jammu and Kashmir is a traditional territorial dispute between two sovereign states, but it is also no longer a territorial dispute between two sovereign states but a complex combination of a political, ethnic, religious and ideological struggle. However, this study focuses on the wave from interstate wars to hybrid warfare, which predominantly includes guerrilla tactics, cyberspace, insurgency and so on, for instance, as a result of Article 370 revocation in 2019. Along with the political and security ramifications, the implications of this revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special autonomy are spelt out. It explores how non-state actors, such as groups and insurgent organisations, are becoming more relevant in the region and how international actors, such as Pakistan’s role in support of militancy and the influence of China, are also growing in importance. The research also explores how technology has become a key element of conflict and how the array of weapons that countries now have at their disposal through technology, such as drones, cyber attacks, and exploiting media and information, has become an ever more important tool of conflict in the twenty-first century. This paper outlines how the evolution of technology and the globalisation of conflict within Jammu and Kashmir accentuate the conflict in certain ways that represent modern warfare. This paper gives an account of the multi-dimensional nature of contemporary conflict with the help of Jammu and Kashmir as a case study and illustrates the problems of resolving such complex hybrid conflicts. Finally, the study states that, to attain the possibility of peace-building, there needs to be multilateral cooperation, inclusive political dialogue and the protection of human rights in areas engulfed by conflict.