South Asia's Weak States
Understanding the Regional Insecurity Predicament

To explain what has caused and contributed to the perpetual insecurity and human suffering in the region, this book engages scholars of international relations, comparative politics, historical sociology, and economic development, among others, to reveal and analyze the key underlying and proximate drivers. It argues that the problems are driven largely by two critical variables: the presence of weak states and weak cooperative interstate norms.

Based on this analysis and the conclusions drawn, the book recommends specific policies for making the region secure and for developing the long lasting inter- and intra-state cooperative mechanisms necessary for the perpetuation of that security.

"Most discussions of South Asia focus on the region's growing strength and promise. This volume performs a valuable service in tempering that optimism. It reminds us that, despite important advances, South Asia remains plagued by insecurity, from the state to the human level. In doing so, the volume makes a useful contribution to regional as well as to broader literatures, drawing lessons that can apply to weak states elsewhere in the world."—S. Paul Kapur, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School

T. V. Paul is Director of the McGill University/Université de Montreal Centre for International Peace and Security Studies (CIPSS) and James McGill Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Politics of Modern South Asia

Comprising the states of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, South Asia has gained considerable international visibility over the past decade. Nuclear proliferation, the rapid evolution of India as a major global economic player, the emergence of new markets, cross-border terrorism, and issues of climate change and the environment are prominent among the factors that have contributed to the growing importance of the region. This has led to a commensurate growth of interest in the modern politics of South Asia, and a vast expansion of in scholarly work.

This new four-volume collection from Routledge brings together the best and most influential research to make sense of this ever-expanding corpus. And while each of the four volumes has been carefully designed by the collection’s editor to be self-contained, they are also helpfully linked to one another through a general introduction (which places the assembled materials in their intellectual and historical context), cross-referencing, a general index, and an annotated bibliography of further readings.

Each of the five volumes is organized around the following themes: History, Political Theory and Institutions; Society, Religion, Political Culture, and Movements; Political Economy; and International Relations to provide a readily accessible and comprehensive research and pedagogic resource which will be especially welcomed by scholars, students, policy-makers, and anyone else with a serious interest in the politics of this fascinating region.

About the Book

The partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 was a turning point for the area, irrevocably altering the fortunes of the people of South Asia. This new three-volume reader brings together an array of materials drawing upon new theoretical insights and fresh bodies of data which critically examine the effects of that momentous division. Organized thematically, the contents cover a range of topics including: borders and boundaries; refugeehood and displacement; majorities and minorities; citizenship; diaspora; and the construction of post-colonial national identities. The set includes a critical introduction and provides a thematic overview identifying new developments and key debates. Presenting a plurality of viewpoints, the collection brings a new perspective to the literature by integrating topics within a comparative framework encompassing India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Table of Contents

Volume 1: History Writing, Violence, Borders Part 1: History Writing, Part 2: Violence Part 3: Borders Volume 2: Gender, Minorities, Memories Part 1: Gender, Part 2: Minorities, Part 3: Memories Volume 3: Identities, Geopolitics, Reconcilation Part 1: Identities, Part 2: Geopolitics, Part 3: Reconciliation

• ISBN: 978-0-415-35954-2
• Binding: Hardback
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 6th December 2007
• Pages: 1233

Crisis of State and Nation : South Asian States Between Nation-Building and Fragmentation

With crisis of nation and state as the principal common focus, this unites thematic regional overviews with case studies on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal. The 13 contributions by specialists on South Asia From Europe, Australia, Japan and the region itself approach the common topic from the specific angle of their discipline, namely political science, sociology, ethnology, history and economics.

ISBN#: 9788173047312
Pages: 432
Edition: 1
Published: 2007
Publisher: Manohar

"The widespread notion and pursuit of a post-independence development strategy in South Asia centered around the state, and essentially following the model of the industrialised countries, has obviously come to end. Similarly, the belief that economic growth together with a socially biased interventionist government would cement national cohesion, contribute to nation-building and, by the same token, strengthen democratic institutions, has been belied. Social inequality has everywhere been aggravated, as has social conflict. While a general process of political mobilization has set in, not least traditionally rather marginalized groups have become empowered. At the same time, the signs of crises multiply as exemplified in the Maoist Movement in Nepal, the Civil War in Sri Lanka, the struggle for self-determination in North-eastern India, or the corruption, violence and alienation in government and politics. While they manifest themselves first of all in the political sphere concerning the representativity and functioning of democracy, and not least the role of political parties, they may go deeper indicating a systematic crisis touching upon the foundations of the socio-political order itself, as most evident in the case of Pakistan. Far from offering solutions, neoliberalism and Western-style democracy appear to be rather part of the problem. As a result, concepts of a modified Nehruvian state or Gandhian visions have gained new currency.

With crisis of nation and state as principal common focus, the present volume unites thematic regional overviews with case studies on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal. The thirteen contributions by specialists on South Asia from Europe, and Australia, Japan and the region itself approach the common topic from the specific angle of their discipline, namely political science, sociology, ethnology, history and economics. This pluridisciplinary combined with case studies opens up new insights as well as new perspectives for further research." (jacket)  

Parliamentary Control and Government Accountability in South Asia: A Comparative Analysis of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka

Parliaments or legislatures are the keystone of democratic governance and they are critical in securing government accountability. This book presents a comparative analysis of the role of parliamentary committees in securing government accountability in the three largest and most important functioning democracies in South Asia: Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

The author compares the nascent democracy of Bangladesh with the stable and vibrant democratic system of India since its independence from the British in 1947 and Sri Lanka's longstanding and established democracy. He argues that in each country, parliament has been able to survive and perform the key parliamentary tasks of representation, legislation, oversight of the executive, conflict resolution and regime maintenance; concluding that parliamentary committees in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka do not perform as successfully as their counterparts in the Western world in controlling the government and holding it to account; however, their role in securing government accountability is not irrelevant.

Parliamentary Control and Government Accountability in South Asia will be a useful reference for studying third world parliaments in particular.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Concepts, Theories and Methods 3. Parliaments and Accountability 4. Parliamentary Committees and Accountability 5. Parliamentary Control and Government Accountability in Bangladesh: The Role of Parliamentary Committees 6. Parliamentary Control and Government Accountability in India: The Role of Parliamentary Committees 7. Parliamentary Control and Government Accountability in Sri Lanka: The Role of Parliamentary Committees 8. Conclusion

About the Author(s)

Taiabur Rahman teaches Development Studies at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research interests are in the area of comparative politics, public administration and development studies.

• ISBN: 978-0-415-40498-3
• Binding: Hardback
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 21st August 2007
• Pages: 272