摘要
This paper discusses how the ideas thrown up by the Peace of Westphalia could be implemented through a peace process shaped and led by India at the head of a modern-day‘Third Party’of like-minded nations–China,Japan and South Korea–which have an abiding interest in West Asian peace and stability.There is little doubt that the Peace of Westphalia offers a number of‘instruments,methods and ideas’to address the ongoing conflicts in West Asia by reconciling the interests of the principal Islamic states in competition–Saudi Arabia and Iran.As has been shown,with diplomatic effort exerted by the quartette–India,China,Japan and South Korea–it is possible to promote confidence-building measures between them and even to satisfactorily address the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen.As at Westphalia,the presence of several regional players did complicate the negotiations,but they were accommodated in the regional settlement,even though some of them had different approaches to the peace process.
