Transforming South Asia Imperatives For Action

Papers presented at the Third Asian Relations Conference, held at New Delhi in March 2012 organized by Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi in collaboration with Association of Asia Scholars.

Right from the Himalayan hermit kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan to the island and archipelago countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the sheer variety of South Asia not only in geographic terms, but also in terms of culture, language and tradition is unparalleled. A wide array of religious beliefs existing in the region alongside distinctive mind-sets, tend to differentiate the countries that make up South Asia. The divisions however, of the region among countries are not the same as the divisions among cultures/religions. This book titled: Transforming South Asia: Imperatives for Action is the outcome of serious deliberations among well-known scholars, diplomats and policymakers at the Third Conference of the Asian Relations Conference Series organized by Indian Council of World Affairs in collaboration with Association of Asia Scholars in March 2012. Papers presented in the conference were thoroughly revised before publication and editors acknowledge with gratitude these insightful contributions. Most contributors to this volume believe in the pertinence of regional integration amongst various South Asian nations. Specifically, the volume sheds considerable light on the issue of regionalization and co-operation as tools to achieve the much longed for transformation in South Asia. Experts do not shy away from examining issues of conflict and how border disputes have often marred the positive spirit of regionalization as also other mechanisms of SAARC in its day-to-day functioning. Therefore an effort to present the complex reality objectively is visible. Contributors also underscore India’s role in regionalization of South Asia as being far more pragmatic since it has strengthened local synergies, especially at the level of their civil societies.

The rise of China has reconstituted the regional identity in Asia as well as the lens through which understanding of China and self-understanding are no longer separate processes intellectually. China scholarship in South and Southeast Asia necessarily highlights meanings of encountering China that Western social sciences fail to reflect because academics in many places, being migrants, navigate and combine more than one civilization forces. With China in itself undergoing transformation, it is unlikely that one can simply speak of China without multiple qualifications of what one actually refers to. The book gathers authors who come from different scholarly traditions to reflect upon how the presentation of China in academic writings as well as think tank analyses can engender different identity possibilities. The book therefore complicates the category 'China' to enable mutual empathy between everything that in one way or another relies on Chineseness as object or subject in accordance with the identity strategies of the China experts.

This book provides a science diplomacy outlook as a new governance tool in international cooperation. It elaborates on India's current S&T collaboration with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and science policy and science diplomacy in India. The book introduces concepts and contours of science diplomacy with international examples. It presents insights into international governance models, mega-science projects, and science diplomacy's role in addressing global climate change and sustainable development challenges. The book is a valuable reference to spark breakthroughs in India’s science diplomacy with its neighbouring countries for scientists, diplomats, policymakers, government, and non-government institutions interested in science and diplomacy.

The book explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on nations across the globe since early 2020. It hosts a variety of perspectives within economic, social and development research studies, providing contemporary and proper information. The book also presents policy prescriptions for developing economies, critiques the system of disease surveillance and waste management, and defines a vision for India's development. It also mirrors issues related to digitisation, marginalisation, government regulations and health systems and provides original ideas for innovative methodologies suitable for higher education. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

The year 2020 was a watershed event in the history of climate change politics. It marked the end of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and the beginning of the ambitious Paris Agreement. It was also the year of the pandemic, where the disruption caused severe implications on a global scale. The pandemic also brought before the world the severity and scale of the transboundary challenges in a globally interconnected world. It exposed the weaknesses of the global institutions and governance structures in tackling the complex and imminent threat of climate change.As states prepare for the future of global climate change negotiations post the COP26 event of 2021, there has been a significant shift in the politics of climate change at all levels. The negotiations took place in the shadows of the pandemic, which has challenged the political lethargy and non-committal attitudes of states on the climate change question.Unlike in the past, climate change is now a hot issue on the political high tables. It has also spilled outside these negotiating spaces and into the public sphere. Whether it is the school strikes led by children or the indigenous struggles of marginalized populations, the politics of climate change today is far more diverse, representative, and active. At the same time, we can witness the shifts in the state's understanding of the problem, which is actively inquiring about its security and geopolitical dimensions. The boundaries between traditional and non-traditional threats to security are getting blurred as climate change, and its myriad impacts wreak havoc on ecosystem resilience, the state's welfare capacity, and people's everyday lives.Hence, this volume seeks to decipher the nature of global climate change politics in the post-pandemic and climate insecure world. Who will be its main actors, main stakeholders, and losers? How will questions of equity, sustainability, and finance interplay at the COP26 event and thereafter? How will developing and poor countries engage with the issue in the next phase of climate politics? Finally, how will the ambition of the Paris Agreement, which is reflected in the language of net-zero targets and the two degrees Celsius temperature goals, be brought into action?

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the close cultural links between India and Vietnam. It discusses the issues of trade negotiations under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Indo-Pacific construct. Issues such as strengthening the economic partnership, contemporary development challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including weakening supply chains, and geo-strategic tensions are explored in this book. It enriches understanding of the potential of the two countries to develop as manufacturing hubs for the region and beyond. Given the more aggressive posturing by China in 2020, the concluding chapter includes the policy prescriptions with a futuristic vision, for India and Vietnam to catalyze their strategic and bilateral partnership. Well researched and analytical, the book draws extensively from several interviews of experts, diplomats, journalists, businesspersons, and members of the diaspora. It is a must read for students, researchers, think tanks, area study centers, and all institutions engaged in Asian studies, encompassing narratives extending from the developmental to political, from the bilateral to the multilateral and from the geo-economic to the geo-strategic.

This book brings into focus India's relations with ASEAN and Thailand in particular. In the 1990s, India revived its relations with Southeast Asia. Yet, in comparison to China, India continued to be a distant neighbour. Hence, India has once again, through its 'Look and Act East' policies become intertwined with its immediate neighbours in the East, especially with Thailand. The objective of the book is to contextualise India's relations and influence in Southeast Asia over a period of nearly two thousand years, through culture and religion. The scope of the book extends beyond bilateral issues to include the multilateral, bringing in issues of trade negotiations under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Indo-Pacific construct. As ASEAN's importance grows in the regional and global landscape, there are ramifications for its relations with its traditional partners. The volatility and suspicion among the major powers, especially USA and China harbour the potential to disunite ASEAN. A rising India seeks a united and strong ASEAN both as a natural partner and in a bid to balance China's growing assertiveness and deep pockets. Based on interviews conducted with experts , diplomats and scholars in the field, this book encompasses a wide range of aspects that pertain to the historical, cultural, economic and strategic international relations of ASEAN and Thailand with India.