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Third Party Intervention in Conflict Resolution: Dispute Between Bangladesh and India over Control of the Ganges River

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Coping with Regional Vulnerability

Part of the book series: New Frontiers in Regional Science: Asian Perspectives ((NFRSASIPER,volume 4))

Abstract

To demonstrate the strategic influence a third party can have on negotiations, a formal approach to resolving a complex conflict is applied to an important international water resources controversy. Specifically, third party intervention is employed within the framework of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution (GMCR) to systematically investigate the ongoing dispute between Bangladesh and India over the regulation of the Ganges River by India at the Farakka Barrage located just upstream on the Ganges River in India before it flows into Bangladesh. A general system of systems engineering approach to Third Party Intervention within the GMCR structure is designed to reflect a range of ways in which it can be implemented in practice. Having an insightful and powerful tool like Third Party GMCR permits one to ascertain how a Third Party can guide a serious conflict to a more reasonable resolution which may be mutually beneficial to all concerned parties.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mr. Conrad W. Hipel for his professional editing of this chapter.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Systems Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Keith W. Hipel

  2. University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8653, Japan

    Maiko Sakamoto

  3. Kyoto University, 264 Suemarucho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, 604-0901, Japan

    Yoshimi Hagihara

Authors
  1. Keith W. Hipel
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  2. Maiko Sakamoto
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  3. Yoshimi Hagihara
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Correspondence to Keith W. Hipel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sociology, Bukkyo University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

    Kiyoko Hagihara

  2. Division of Urban Policy, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan

    Chisato Asahi

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Hipel, K.W., Sakamoto, M., Hagihara, Y. (2016). Third Party Intervention in Conflict Resolution: Dispute Between Bangladesh and India over Control of the Ganges River. In: Hagihara, K., Asahi, C. (eds) Coping with Regional Vulnerability. New Frontiers in Regional Science: Asian Perspectives, vol 4. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55169-0_17

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