A Political Ceiling on Escalation: Peace Governance and Non-Aligned Mediation in the 1962 India–China Crisis

This article examines the Colombo Conference Proposals of December 1962 as an instance of non-aligned mediation in the aftermath of the India–China border war. Based on a close reading of the Proposals and related diplomatic materials, it argues that the initiative did not seek to resolve the dispute but to structure restraint through ceasefire consolidation, disengagement, and demilitarized arrangements. In doing so, it conceptualized peace as a form of procedural governance—a political ceiling on escalation rather than a comprehensive settlement. Situating the case within existing scholarship on mediation, failed peace processes, and middle-power diplomacy, this article shows how non-aligned states contributed to conflict management through appeal, regional legitimacy, and sovereign consent. The Colombo episode illustrates both the possibilities and limits of such mediation: it could shape conduct and contain escalation, but it remained dependent on voluntary compliance and shared interpretation.