This work investigates the origins and escalation of the Kashmir conflict following the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Josef Korbel, a diplomat and scholar with direct involvement in the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan, utilizes his firsthand experience and primary diplomatic records to analyze the geopolitical instability of the region. He argues that the hasty nature of the British withdrawal and the subsequent failure to resolve the status of princely states created a volatile environment that continues to threaten regional security.

Experts recognize this text as a foundational primary source for understanding the early diplomatic history of the Kashmir dispute. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's unique position as an international mediator.