Abstract
After the December 13 attack on the Indian Parliament, tension between India and Pakistan has been on the rise. However, what is surprising about India's strategy against Pakistan is that it has resorted to coercive diplomacy to persuade Pakistan to stop aiding and abetting cross-border terrorism. In pursuit of India's demand for the end of the cross-border terrorism, the Indian government has deliberately escalated the confrontation with Pakistan over last several months by using the threat of punishment and has not ruled out the military option if the diplomatic offensives fail. Using coercive diplomacy as a theoretical starting point, this study aims to explore the recent India-Pakistan conflict from the dimensions of international environment, internal dynamics and statecraft, and how these factors have affected coercive diplomacy. It is expected to shed some light on the understanding of recent developments in India-Pakistan relations.