Enduring and Emerging Issues in South Asian Security

Contents: Preface. 1. U.S. Foreign Policy and Security and Governance in South Asia/Dinshaw Mistry. 2. Pakistan, India and U.S. Strategic Interests/Dinshaw Mistry. 3. Security Issues in Sino-Indian Relations/Sumit Ganguly. 4. Governance Challenges: Legitimacy and Citizenship in China and India/Edward Kolodziej. 5. Cooperation and Defection Cycles in India-Pakistan Relations/Kanti Bajpai. 6. Nuclear Stability in South Asia/Dinshaw Mistry. 7. Building Up the Indian Air Force/Amit Gupta. 8. Pakistan’s Political Culture and Its Implications for Democracy/Marvin G. Weinbaum. 9. Baloch Nationalism and the Garrison State in Pakistan/Kavita R. Khory.  10. Internal Security Threats in Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Other Cases: Learning from Comparative Responses/Chetan Kumar. Index.

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.