Journal of Peace and Diplomacy

Gender-Inclusive Politics and Diplomacy in Pakistan: An Analysis of Representation, Barriers, and Policy Reform

Sarwat Rauf — 2025-12-31

This research endeavors to examine the potentials and constraints of gender-inclusive diplomacy in Pakistan by using a framework of intersectional feminism. Notwithstanding the progress at the international level in integrating gender inclusivity into foreign policy, women in Pakistan could not be promoted in the foreign service and diplomatic structures. While figures such as Ms Maryam Nawaz, Ms Maleeha Lodhi, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, and Benazir Bhutto show women’s potential role in the diplomatic sphere. I take their presence to reaffirm symbolic markers rather than systemic change. This study raises a question: what structural, cultural, and institutional barriers restrict women’s participation in Pakistan’s foreign policy-making? Methodologically, the study employs qualitative research analyzing frameworks of gender equality in politics and Foreign Affairs. Comparative analysis with feminist foreign policy models offers a yardstick for evaluating Pakistan’s approach. Findings uncover that women's exclusion is not merely based on gender but is designed by intersecting factors of religion, class, and regional identity. Gender mainstreaming efforts in Pakistan remain limited, as they often fail to account for these layered identities. The study concludes that women’s representation is inadequate to accomplish inclusivity. Therefore, Pakistan must adopt structural reforms, including training opportunities and new employment frameworks for women. Since gender inclusive diplomacy is a strategic necessity for Pakistan, it should strengthen its diplomatic efficiency, long-term stability and global credibility by including women in diplomacy. Ultimately, inclusive diplomacy emerges not as a symbolic gesture but as a strategic necessity.

Harnessing AI Technology in Peacekeeping: Opportunities and Challenges

Ramsha Mir — 2025-12-31

Peacekeeping operations in the 21st century have evolved beyond traditional stability mission to encompass more complex objectives, including civilian protection, conflict resolution, and the management of asymmetric threats. In this shifted paradigm, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technologies present unique prospects to improve operational effectiveness and safety of peacekeeping personnel. While there is substantial research on military applications of AI, there remains a striking lack of studies exploring the integration of AI within the UN's peacekeeping mission. This study aims to examine how AI and AI-enabled virtual reality (VR) simulations can enhance the preparedness and response of peacekeepers deployed in high-risk areas. This study is qualitative in nature and adopts phenomenological approach. This research explores the experiences of peacekeepers who were deployed in countries such as Democracy Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, and Mali, and Central African Republic (CAR). It also includes perspectives from experts involved in peacekeeping training department. Findings indicate that AI technologies, particularly with respect to surveillance and intelligence gathering, have potential to enhance situational awareness and lessen the risks posed from emerging threats. Furthermore, AI-driven virtual reality (VR) training simulation creates opportunities for peacekeepers to exercise and enhance their skill of interacting with the community and assist in decision making. Nonetheless, the study also highlights challenges and concerns, including ethical consideration, potential violations of core peacekeeping principles and limitations in the resources required to build AI-based infrastructure. The research demonstrates the potential of AI and VR to transform and modernize peacekeeping, but stressed the need for responsible implementation, recognizing the fundamental cause of peace and stability.

Beyond Ideology: The Complex Determinants of Terrorism in Contemporary Pakistan

Safi Ur Rehman — 2025-12-31

Terrorism in Pakistan is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that cannot be attributed to ideological factors alone. In today's Pakistan, terrorism stems from a confluence of socioeconomic concerns, political repressions, regional power dynamics, historical frictions, as well as institutional weaknesses. By employing Relative deprivation and Political Opportunity structure theories, this study aims to explore how perceived relative social, economic, and political deprivation breeds fertile ground for radicalization, which terrorist organizations further exploit through ethnic and sectarian divisions. The research paper examines the role of the State’s inconsistent policies, political instability, and governance deficits in exacerbating the situation. Along with potential root causes, the socioeconomic and psychological impacts are also analyzed. This study also evaluates Pakistan's counterterrorism measures and the hindrances, such as corruption, lack of coordination among the agencies, and the need for a holistic approach to address the broader issues. Pakistan’s challenging geographical terrain, as well as its historical entanglement in regional conflicts, pose additional challenges in its efforts to combat terrorism. The contemporary digital modes of terrorist financing are adding to the complexity. A qualitative research methodology presents a holistic picture of the complex determinants in modern Pakistan. Overall, the objectives of this study are twofold. The first is to provide a detailed analysis of the diverse factors contributing to terrorism in Pakistan, and the second is to decode the emerging modes of terrorist financing.

Technopolitics of Conflict: Unpacking the Role of Drones in Sudan’s War

SHEM SITEKI — 2025-12-31

Over the past twenty years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), widely known as drones, have become a critical innovation in global security. In Africa, more than 20 countries have adopted UAV technology within the last five years, with notable developments in North Africa, West Africa, and increasingly in the Sahel region, especially amid the ongoing conflict in Sudan. This research examined the deployment of drone technology and its broader impact within Sudan’s conflict from 2023 to 2025. Using a qualitative case study framework and thematic analysis, the study offers a nuanced understanding of how drone operations have reshaped warfare, affected civilian protection, and reconfigured power relations. Primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with key informants (n=5), including security experts, a policy analyst, a humanitarian officer, and an academic researcher, complemented by online media coverage and specialized sources. Findings reveal paradoxical outcomes: while drones have enabled tactical disruption, enhanced surveillance, and precision strikes, particularly via loitering munitions and foreign-supplied UAVs, they have also contributed to civilian casualties, eroded trust, and intensified ethical scrutiny. In Sudan, drone technologies are not merely tools of military efficiency but instruments that recalibrate battlefield asymmetries and challenge aerial sovereignty in a fragmented security landscape. The study recommends multi-level reforms, including national oversight protocols, regional ethical frameworks, and international tracking mechanisms to regulate drone transfers, safeguard civilian zones, and build technopolitical literacy within Sudan’s transitional governance.

Persons with Disabilities in Afghanistan Under the Taliban Regime (2021–2024): A Legal Inquiry into International Human Rights Obligations

Mawloda H — 2025-12-31

This study involves a critical analysis of the marginalization of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Afghanistan within the Taliban regime that lasted between 2021 and 2024, including their exclusion from employment and economic livelihoods. Based on empirical reports and utilizing Conflict Theory and Non-Discrimination Theory as an analytical framework, the research highlights how the Taliban's system of governance strategically dismantled existing disability support systems, including employment schemes and stipends, in the country. The paper has brought to light the intentional disregard of the rights of PWDs, especially PWD women, by the power structure to participate in the socio-economic life, which is in contrast to the provisions that Afghanistan made in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The research engages in a joint approach of doctrinal legal analysis and qualitative data to prove that the policies of the Taliban not only sustain structural inequality, but they also constitute instances of outright violation of international law on human rights. The study makes the final recommendations of international monitoring, legal responsibility, and specific humanitarian actions in securing and advancing the economic rights of Afghan PWDs.

Bamboo Diplomacy: Vietnam’s Strategy of Resilience nd Flexibility in a Multipolar World

Giulio Chinappi — 2025-12-31

This article analyses Vietnam’s concept of “bamboo diplomacy” as a pragmatic instrument of statecraft in an era of intensifying great-power competition. Through qualitative document analysis of official policy statements, party congress reports, bilateral communiqués and contemporaneous media, together with a small set of comparative case studies, the paper traces how Hanoi operationalises resilience, adaptability and selective alignment to defend sovereign interests and expand diplomatic room for manoeuvre. Examining episodes in Vietnam–China maritime interactions, evolving security and economic ties with the United States, and Hanoi’s initiatives within ASEAN, the study identifies three mutually reinforcing pillars of bamboo diplomacy: tactical flexibility to seize strategic openings; principled firmness on core issues such as territorial integrity; and networked multilateralism that leverages diversified partnerships. The evidence indicates that bamboo diplomacy constitutes a calibrated form of soft balancing — avoiding formal military coalitions while deepening partnerships that collectively raise the costs of coercion. The article situates this indigenous diplomatic idiom within contemporary international relations theory and assesses its limits, notably economic dependence on China and constrained defence capacities. It concludes by reflecting on the potential applicability of Vietnam’s approach for other middle powers navigating an increasingly multipolar order.

Exploring the Nexus between Climate Change and Governance: Unravelling the Environmental Factors Fuelling Governance Issues

HARIS BILAL MALIK — 2025-12-31

Climate change and governance issues are inextricably intertwined, with one exacerbating the other's detrimental effects. This research study examines the intricate relationship between climate change impacts and governance challenges in Pakistan. Case studies such as the 2010, 2002 and 2025 floods along with Balochistan's water crisis are referenced to illustrate how climate change can exacerbate existing governance vulnerabilities. Resource deficiencies, energy interruptions, food insecurity, and coastal vulnerability are among the dimensions that are examined. It additionally analyzed the existing literature, highlighting theoretical frameworks such as the climatic conflict thesis, which has revealed a research gap specific to Pakistan. The essay argues that sustainable agriculture, anti-corruption measures, resilient infrastructure, and climate financing techniques need to be integrated into a holistic policy response to climate resilience. It has stressed that in order for governance to be effective and climate initiatives to be implemented adequately, capacity building and transparency must be bolstered. Subsequently addressing the climate governance nexus necessitates a multifaceted approach for the country's long-term development and socioeconomic stability.