Routledge Handbook Of Autocratization In South Asia

This handbook offers a comprehensive analysis of the processes and actors contributing to autocratization in South Asia. It provides an enhanced understanding of the interconnectedness of the different states in the region, and how that may be related to autocratization. The book analyzes issues of state power, the support for political parties, questions relating to economic actors and sustainable economic development, the role of civil society, questions of equality and political culture, political mobilization, the role of education and the media, as well as topical issues such as the Covid pandemic, environmental issues, migration, and military and international security. Structured in five sections, contributions by international experts describe and explain outcomes at the national level in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The final section analyzes conditions for democracy and autocratization and how they are affected by the interplay of political forces at the international level in this region. India – building an ethnic state? Pakistan – the decline of civil liberties Bangladesh – towards one-party rule Sri Lanka – the resilience of the ethnic state How to comprehend autocratization in South Asia – three broad perspectives This innovative handbook is the first to describe and to explain ongoing trends of autocratization in South Asia, demonstrating that drivers of political change also work across boundaries. It is an important reference work for students and researchers of South Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Area Studies and Political Science. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Politics examines key issues in politics of the five independent states of the South Asian region: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Written by experts in their respective areas, this Handbook introduces the reader to the politics of South Asia by presenting the prevailing agreements and disagreements in the literature. In the first two sections, the Handbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the modern political history of the states of the region and an overview of the independence movements in the former colonial states. The other sections focus on the political changes that have occurred in the postcolonial states since independence, as well as the successive political changes in Nepal during the same period, and the structure and functioning of the main governmental and non-governmental institutions, including the structure of the state itself (unitary or federal), political parties, the judiciary, and the military. Further, the contributors explore several aspects of the political process and political and economic change, especially issues of pluralism and national integration, political economy, corruption and criminalization of politics, radical and violent political movements, and the international politics of the region as a whole. This unique reference work provides a comprehensive survey of the state of the field and is an invaluable resource for students and academics interested in South Asian Studies, South Asian Politics, Comparative Politics and International Relations.

This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of South Asian foreign policy, examining the complex history and present state of South Asian foreign policy, the foreign policy of the countries of the region as well as their relationships with their neighbors and key external players, such as China and the U.S., in an effort to understand South Asia's place in the world order. It illustrates the future trajectory of foreign policy in the region and analyses future of regional arrangements like SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and BIMSTEC. The handbook is structured in five parts, each representing a focused area of enquiry: Foreign Policy Relations within South Asia Relations within Indo-Pacific Relations with China, Europe and U.S. Security A carefully selected collection of 27 chapters written by experts on South Asian foreign, economic and security policy, this handbook provides an objective yet accessible overview of the history and current state of foreign policy of each country and the region. It is an authoritative reference work for academics and students as well as international think tanks, research institutes, and non-governmental organizations working on South Asian Politics, Asian Politics, Foreign Politics, International Affairs, World History, and International Relations.

This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the international relations of South Asia. South Asia as a region is increasingly assuming greater significance in global politics for a host of compelling reasons. This volume offers the most comprehensive collection of perspectives on the international politics of South Asia, and it it covers an extensive range of issues spanning from inter-state wars to migration in the region. Each contribution provides a careful discussion of the four major theoretical approaches to the study of international politics: Realism, Constructivism, Liberalism, and Critical Theory. In turn, the chapters discuss the relevance of each approach to the issue area addressed in the book. The volume offers coverage of the key issues under four thematic sections: - Theoretical Approaches to the Study of the International Relations of South Asia - Traditional and Emerging Security Issues in South Asia - The International Relations of South Asia - Cross-cutting Regional Issues Further, every effort has been made in the chapters to discuss the origins, evolution and future direction of each issue. This book will be of much interest to students of South Asian politics, human security, regional security, and International Relations in general.

The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization comprehensively and systematically explores the current understanding, and unchartered research paths, of autocratization. With wide-reaching regional coverage and expert analysis from Asia, North and South America, Europa, the Middle East, and North Africa, this handbook reveals cross-country, and cross-regional, analysis and insights and presents in-depth explanations and consequences of autocratization. Arranged in five thematic parts, chapters explore the basic aspects of conceptualization, theorization, and measurement of autocratization; the role of various political and non-political actors as perpetrators, supporters, bystanders, or defenders of democracy against autocratization processes; and the consequences across various policy fields. Showcasing cutting-edge research developments, the handbook illustrates the deeply complex nature of the field, examining important topics in need of renewed consideration at a time of growing concerns for democracy and the global spread of authoritarian challenges to democracy. The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization will be a key reference for those interested in, and studying authoritarianism, democratization, human rights, governance, democracy and more broadly comparative politics, and regional/area studies. Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Written by experts on the region's complex politics, this Handbook provides an in depth understanding of political issues in the five states of Central Asia. It is structured along the themes of security and stability, development of political institutions and national integration, issues in political economy and international relations.

Pathways of Autocratization addresses contemporary global politics’ one of the most important questions: how does a country regress from a democracy to an autocracy? This book offers a novel framework for understanding the processes that erode democracy and lead to autocracy and explains a specific instance of democratic backsliding in Bangladesh: the world’s eighth most populous country. With probing analysis of events and trends of Bangladeshi politics, especially since 2009, the book contextualizes the country’s autocratization process within global trends and compares it with others which have trod a similar path in recent decades, including Bolivia, Cambodia, Hungary, Poland, the Philippines and Turkey. The book discusses the implications of institutional changes, the role of pliant media, the contribution of ideology, and the conduct of international actors in the autocratization process while also mapping future trajectories for the country. Succinct, incisive, and thought provoking, this book is rich in its theoretical robustness and empirical details. This is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of democratic backsliding and prospects for reversing this trend.

Gurus and Media is the first book dedicated to media and mediation in domains of public guruship and devotion. Illuminating the mediatisation of guruship and the guru-isation of media, it bridges the gap between scholarship on gurus and the disciplines of media and visual culture studies. It investigates guru iconographies in and across various time periods and also the distinctive ways in which diverse gurus engage with and inhabit different forms of media: statuary, games, print publications, photographs, portraiture, films, machines, social media, bodies, words, graffiti, dolls, sound, verse, tombs and more. The book’s interdisciplinary chapters advance, both conceptually and ethnographically, our understanding of the function of media in the dramatic production of guruship, and reflect on the corporate branding of gurus and on mediated guruship as a series of aesthetic traps for the captivation of devotees and others. They show how different media can further enliven the complex plurality of guruship, for instance in instantiating notions of ‘absent-present’ guruship and demonstrating the mutual mediation of gurus, caste and Hindutva. Throughout, the book foregrounds contested visions of the guru in the development of devotional publics and pluriform guruship across time and space. Thinking through the guru’s many media entanglements in a single place, the book contributes new insights to the study of South Asian religions and to the study of mediation more broadly. Praise for Gurus and Media 'Sight, sound, image, narrative, representation and performance in the complex world of gurus are richly illuminated and deeply theorised in this outstanding volume. The immensely important, but hitherto under-explored, visual and aural dimensions of guru-ship across several religious traditions have received path-breaking and wide-ranging treatment by best-known experts on the subject.' Nandini Gooptu, University of Oxford ‘Gurus and Media casts subtle light on a phenomenon that too often shines so brightly that it is hard to see. This collection is a tremendously rich resource for anyone trying to make sense of that ambiguous zone where authority appears at once as seduction and as salvation, as comfort and as terror.’ William Mazzarella, University of Chicago 'This remarkable collection uses the figure of the mass-mediated guru to throw light on how modern Hindu mobilization generates a highly diverse set of religious charismatics in India. Because of the diversity of the contributors to this volume, the book is also a moveable feast of cases, methods and cultural styles in a major cultural region.' Arjun Appadurai, Emeritus Professor of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University