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Research Article
International Media Narratives on the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack and Emerging India-Pakistan Tensions: A Discourse Analysis
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, June 2026
Pages:
1-14
Received:
12 January 2026
Accepted:
21 January 2026
Published:
20 February 2026
Abstract: This paper examines how international media outlets reported the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 2025 in Jammu and Kashmir and how these narratives shaped emerging India–Pakistan tensions. The primary objective of the study is to analyze variations in language use, attribution of responsibility, and geopolitical framing across global media coverage, and to assess their implications for international perceptions of terrorism and regional security in South Asia. Methodologically, the study employs qualitative discourse analysis informed by Framing Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis. The analysis focuses on news reports, editorials, and explanatory articles published by six major international media organizations-BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, CNN, and Xinhua. These outlets were selected based on their global reach, agenda-setting influence, and geopolitical diversity. The dataset comprises articles published between April and June 2025, capturing both immediate reporting on the attack and subsequent coverage of diplomatic and military developments, including India’s Operation Sindoor. The findings identify five dominant discursive patterns across international media narratives: (i) terrorism framed as a regional security threat, (ii) the recurring India–Pakistan blame game, (iii) Kashmir portrayed as a persistent conflict zone, (iv) the articulation of India’s nationalist security discourse, and (v) Pakistan’s diplomatic positioning and denial narrative. Western media outlets largely adopted neutral terminology such as “militants,” emphasizing diplomatic fallout and de-escalation, while other outlets foregrounded political, humanitarian, and strategic dimensions of the crisis. The study demonstrates that international media do not merely report events but actively shape geopolitical interpretations by legitimizing certain state actions and influencing global diplomatic responses. By situating media narratives within broader power relations and ideological frameworks, the paper contributes to scholarship on media framing, terrorism studies, and international relations, highlighting the role of global media as influential actors in the construction of South Asian security discourse.
Abstract: This paper examines how international media outlets reported the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 2025 in Jammu and Kashmir and how these narratives shaped emerging India–Pakistan tensions. The primary objective of the study is to analyze variations in language use, attribution of responsibility, and geopolitical framing across global media cover...
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Research Article
Regional Realignments: Harmonizing Human Rights Frameworks in East and Southern Africa
Jackson Marwa Oringa*
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, June 2026
Pages:
15-22
Received:
9 April 2025
Accepted:
29 May 2025
Published:
19 March 2026
Abstract: This paper argues that creation of a coherent and efficient system of protection of human rights across the African continent is undermined by enormous structural and normative differences between the sub-regional schemes a case on the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Through a critical comparative legal examination, the study examines the constitutive treaties, organizational frameworks, and enforcement bodies of the two regions. It describes significant variation in the binding nature of human rights instruments, regional court jurisdiction, and the political participation evident in member states. While each community formulates human rights principles, their application and enforcement in practice are unequal due to diverging legal standards and a lack of institutional strength. The article stresses the consequences of this fragmentation, such as restricted access to justice, absence of coherent jurisprudence, and undermining of legitimacy and authority of regional human rights institutions. For these purposes, the article proposes certain policy measures, such as harmonization of legal systems, strengthening judicial independence and expertise, and promotion of political accountability of member states. It contends that harmonizing the human rights systems of the EAC and SADC would not only increase legal certainty and improve coherence in application but also propel regional integration and cooperation. Ultimately, this study adds to ongoing scholarly and policy debate on strengthening human rights protection on the African continent by presenting practicable steps for overcoming sub-regional divisions and consolidating an integrated, effective continental system of human rights.
Abstract: This paper argues that creation of a coherent and efficient system of protection of human rights across the African continent is undermined by enormous structural and normative differences between the sub-regional schemes a case on the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Through a critical comparative...
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Research Article
Conflict and Violence: Exploring the Causes and Consequences of Various Forms of Political Violence, Including Civil Wars, Ethnic Conflicts, and Coups
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, June 2026
Pages:
23-31
Received:
15 September 2025
Accepted:
29 September 2025
Published:
26 March 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ipa.20261001.13
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Views:
Abstract: The modern international system has encountered several forms of political violence which include civil wars, insurgency, ethnic conflicts, terrorism, and military coups. According to recent trends observed in the world, violent conflicts have been on the increase by a sharp margin and 2024 is recorded as one of the most conflict-laden years since 1946 and the number of deaths in the year has been unprecedented. In this paper, Relative Deprivation Theory and Coup-Proofing Theory is used to express the underlying factors of political instability and violence. Relative Deprivation Theory emphasizes the role played by perceptions of inequalities between social groups, especially, horizontal inequalities, founded on ethnicity, religion, or regional identity in creating grievances that can stir collective violence. On the other hand, the Coup-Proofing Theory provides a description of how leaders manipulate the military structures, establish competing security agencies and politicize military forces to deter coups, and in the course of doing so, tend to fuel factional competition in the security world. The interaction between these dynamics to generate instability is empirically demonstrated in countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Haiti, and a number of states in the Sahel. The structural imbalances between groups in most of these incidences generate unresolved grievances, whereas factional rivalry between the political elite and security agencies is a more contributing factor to bouts of violence and coup efforts. Moreover, there has been the increase of instability across regions through the diffusion process whereby conflicts and coups in a particular region have been used to instigate similar acts in other parts. Political violence has very far-reaching consequences. These are social trust erosion, democratic regression, budgetary crises, trade and economic activity derailment, and massive population displacement. The regional and international implications also result in these outcomes, which impact institutions like the ECOWAS and the African Union. These other spillover effects are evident in recent events such as the exit of certain Sahelian military regimes to ECOWAS and the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Sudan. The paper ends by giving recommendations that are aimed at preventing political violence with the major approach being reducing structural inequalities, professionalizing security forces, enhancing mediation mechanisms, and increasing institutional stability as alternatives.
Abstract: The modern international system has encountered several forms of political violence which include civil wars, insurgency, ethnic conflicts, terrorism, and military coups. According to recent trends observed in the world, violent conflicts have been on the increase by a sharp margin and 2024 is recorded as one of the most conflict-laden years since ...
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Research Article
The Horn’s Strategic Gamble: How Ethiopia, Eritrea, and External Actors Engage in Finite and Infinite Games
Daniel Mekonnen Yilma*
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, June 2026
Pages:
32-38
Received:
4 March 2026
Accepted:
13 March 2026
Published:
31 March 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ipa.20261001.14
Downloads:
Views:
Abstract: This essay uses the Finite and Infinite Game Theory of James P. Carse to examine how state and non-state actors might use the conflict to further rival agendas in the face of escalating war speculations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, fueled by Ethiopia's disputed Red Sea ambitions and Eritrea's militarized game of chicken. The study uses secondary data and qualitative methodology to show a self-evident difference: Eritrea and external powers like Egypt use infinite strategies (control of resources, sustaining instability) to turn potential war into intricate crisis, while government and rebel groups in Ethiopia adopt finite strategies (control of land, regime transformation). Finite objectives are in the driving seat for Ethiopia. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's efforts to reach the Red Sea and carry out military assaults on rebels demonstrate his desire to win convincingly. Similarly, the disunited Tigray groups (TPLF), Amhara Fano rebellion, and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) each have finite objectives: overthrow Abiy or reoccupy territory. But Eritrea's bottomless playbook is underestimated by these actors: With its capacity to sustain war, President Isaias Afwerki's government may leverage Ethiopia's domestic fragmentation by backing Fano groups, OLA, or Tigray dissenters, thereby spreading more chaos and undermining Addis Ababa's regional authority. Outside actors solidify infinite games further: the Gulf and Somalia governments can leverage the crisis to reconfigure Red Sea alliances, and Egypt's support for Abiy's anti-factions aims at irreversibly halting Ethiopia's aspirations on the Nile River (GERD) instead of winning a war. Stakes are at their highest level. While Egypt and Eritrea, which are infinite players, gain through constant uncertainty, finite-focused Ethiopia stands to risk strategic exhaustion. This exposes the Horn to the danger of mass displacement, humanitarian crises, and Ethiopia's Balkanization. Rebalancing strategies, the study indicates that Ethiopia must meet grievances along ethnic lines through inclusive governance (minimizing infinite vulnerabilities), and international actors should prefer mediation to fragment exploitative compacts. The Horn is on the brink of a future in which war is a commodified and catalyzing instrument if finite and infinite paradigms are not subjected to synthesis.
Abstract: This essay uses the Finite and Infinite Game Theory of James P. Carse to examine how state and non-state actors might use the conflict to further rival agendas in the face of escalating war speculations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, fueled by Ethiopia's disputed Red Sea ambitions and Eritrea's militarized game of chicken. The study uses secondary d...
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