Enduring and Emerging Issues in South Asian Security examines a number of security and governance issues in South Asia and their implications for U.S. foreign policy in the region. The major enduring issues include India-Pakistan and India-China relations, conventional forces, and nuclear weapons. Key questions in these areas include the drivers and trajectory of the Sino-Indian rivalry; the reasons behind the India-Pakistan diplomatic talks and their breakdown; prospects for nuclear use and arms races; and how well Pakistan and India aligned with the U.S. on issues such as the war in Afghanistan and balancing a rising China. China’s role in South Asia also warrants examination.
Some underexplored issues include democratic backsliding in India, authoritarian hardening in China, and their international ramifications. Another set of issues relates to Pakistan: the impact of its political culture on democracy and the insurgency in the Baluchistan province. The authors also explore internal security challenges in Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. A comparative study of these cases offers lessons on countering violent extremism and conflicts related to issues of identity and marginalization.
With chapters written by academics and analysts specializing in these issues, this volume will provide all readers interested in South Asian security and U.S. policy in the region with new insights into these topics. It would be a useful resource for universities, departments of international relations, think-tanks, research organizations, and the policy community.
Šumit Ganguly is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science and holds the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dinshaw Mistry is Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies at the University of Cincinnati.
Preface
one U.S. Foreign Policy and Security and Governance in South Asia DINSHAW MISTRY
two Pakistan, India, and U.S. Strategic Interests DINSHAW MISTRY
three Security Issues in Sino-Indian Relations ŠUMIT GANGULY
four Governance Challenges: Legitimacy and Citizenship in China and India EDWARD KOLODZIEJ
five Cooperation and Defection Cycles in India-Pakistan Relations KANTI BAJPAI
six Nuclear Stability in South Asia DINSHAW MISTRY
seven Building Up the Indian Air Force AMIT GUPTA
eight Pakistan’s Political Culture and Its Implications for Democracy MARVIN G. WEINBAUM
nine Baloch Nationalism and the Garrison State in Pakistan KAVITA R. KHORY
ten Internal Security Threats in Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Other Cases: Learning from Comparative Responses CHETAN KUMAR
Contributors Index
‘In this valuable collection, a group of leading scholars analyze some of the central security challenges facing South Asia. They address longstanding issues such as conventional and nuclear forces, and Sino-Indian and India-Pakistan relations, as well as problems related to political culture, democracy, and internal security, which have previously been underexplored.’ S. Paul Kapur, Professor, Department of National Security Affairs, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California ‘Blending academic insight with policy relevance, these chapters explore a host of critical governance and security challenges facing contemporary South Asia that have clear implications for U.S. foreign policy.’ Walter Ladwig III, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, King’s College, London [This book dedicated to Stephen P. Cohen] ‘bears the hallmarks of the characteristic sympathy and penetrating analysis that distinguished his own work during his lifetime. The essays in this volume illuminate the diverse security predicaments that bedevil the various South Asian states in ways that are deeply insightful for both scholars and policy practitioners alike.’ Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.