| Summary/Abstract |
The broad generic characterisation of Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) is of them being a set of unilateral, bilateral, or multilateral procedural actions that primarily are put in place to decrease military tensions between state actors (nation-states) before, during or after actual conflict. States with security-related differences that could potentially lead to conflict should encourage channels to communicate regularly through consultative mechanisms with transparency measures that foster greater candidness of military cooperation. These could include pre-notification requirements, military exercises and related operating procedures. In today’s conflict-ridden world, CBMs serve as an effective tool to make a breakthrough towards the larger goal of conflict resolution. The aim of CBMs is to help build a working trust by addressing the more amenable issues by means of substantive negotiations, which, in turn, could potentially allow parties to address the more contentious aspects of a conflict.1 CBMs, thus, are not necessarily an end in themselves, but rather useful steps to negotiate and implement processes that could become bridges to reduce conflict situations between states.
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