The present volume comes out of a conference held by the IFPS in collaboration with CPWAS at Calcutta University in March 2012. The volume comprises of eight essays highlighting on various approaches to the question of instability in India’s western neighbourhood, and what it could mean for India. The issues covered include the domestic dynamics of Pakistan, Afghanistan, the extent to which these have a bearing on the foreign policy of the Government of India, and the economic and social cost extracted by the aura of instability that has come to characterise the neighbourhood.

This book reflects on the reasons for the decline of international cooperation in world politics and studies ways to restore legitimacy in the international order. It engages with the concept of legitimacy in international relations theories and practices to examine the discussions around power shifts, the decline of liberalism, demands for inclusive international architectures, and challenges to multilateralism, as well as established norms by leaders and nationalisms. It studies the impact of the post-COVID-19 world order on the nature of power in the international system and changes in normative concerns of security. The volume also interrogates political legitimacy through an area studies lens by examining the concept of legitimacy separately in the USA, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa. An important and timely text featuring contributions from eminent scholars, this book will be of use to students and researchers of modern history, political science, and international relations. It will also be of interest to think tanks and policy-making bodies concerned with international affairs and foreign policy.

The present book offers a fascinating area of academic discourse which needs to be examined for a clear understanding of the elements of international politics which necessarily carry political ramification. It attempts to assess the bilateral relations, co-operations and contours of trades, accords and understandings. To be more precise, it deals with the treaties and accords, political and economic co-operations, trade relations, wars and conflicts of each neighbouring-nation with relation to India. The present book should be of interest to students, scholars, journalists and policy makers interested in the study of SAARC countries. It should be an indispensable reference for students of Political Science.

While security concerns have assumed salience across the globe, Afghanistan’s proximity to Central Asia has meant that security or perceptions of insecurity dominate the strategic discourse in the region. Issues that stand out include the challenges that the Central Asian states will face in terms of stability, ethnic tensions, radicalization of youth, destabilization of commodity flows and energy security and the impact that these could have on Central Asian society. However, security cannot just be defined in terms of security at the borders. It needs to be defined in ‘cosmopolitan’ terms through an array of issues like movements across borders, radicalism within states, the sharing of water, and various multilateral attempts at combating insecurity. This volume is an attempt to focus on some of these issues that reflect on perceptions of security principally from Indian and Uzbek positions. It examines shifts over the last two decades, from debates on the geopolitical importance of the region from a great game perspective to the salience of new engagements within the international arena.

Developments in South Asia in the areas of democracy, political economy and security in the last couple of years are intriguing and raise questions about whether the region is on the road to transformation. The years 2013 and 2014, particularly, have been ‘years of transition’ in South Asia. Almost all South Asia countries have undergone political transitions with cascading effects. These elections are significant for South Asian countries because the region has witnessed political instability for a long period of time. The elections in South Asia generated the hope that the most un-integrated region may become interdependent after coming up of new sets of political heads. These developments in the region have an influence on India’s foreign policy and also mould its domestic politics; and vice-versa. India’s policy towards individual countries also has a decisive impact on the pace of on-going political transitions in a number of spheres: civil-military relations, foreign policy of individual countries, socio-political and economic dynamics and nature of governance. These transitions reflect the nature, behaviour and response of the transitory states towards the others. India, as an important stakeholder in the region is keenly observing these transitions in its neighbourhood. This book titled: Transitions and Interdependence: India and Its Neighbours is the outcome of serious deliberations among well known scholars, diplomats and policy makers at the Fifth Asian Relations Conference organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs in collaboration with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in February 2014. Papers presented in the conference have been thoroughly revised before publication and the editors acknowledge with gratitude theses insightful contributions.

Pakistan, with the second largest Muslim population in the world, is a crucial country in the international system. This book identifies the factors that contribute both to Pakistan’s perceived instability and its resilience. It examines the drivers of Pakistan chronic instability and addresses the implications of its current political and security predicaments for regional, international and its own security.

This book analyses strategic discourse on the Himalayas from the perspective of India’s interests. Home to many communities, cultures, natural resources and political boundaries, it is the geopolitical landscape of the Himalayas between India and China that dominates other narratives and discourses. The traditional notion of Himalayas as India’s frontiers and buffer is challenged by China. Despite various mechanisms to address border resolution there are violations and transgressions from China. This book examines India’s responses to the new emerging challenges in the Himalayas. How the statist discourse on strategic interests incorporates people’s discourse. It provides a nuanced understanding of India’s strategic undertakings, diplomatic initiatives and development framework. This book will be a valuable addition to existing knowledge on the Himalayas between India and China. Scholars and practitioners interested in International Relations, Strategic Studies, Himalayan Studies and South Asian Studies will find it useful. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

Papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop entitled as "NATO, the Fight against International Terrorism in Afghanistan and Security Situation in Central Asia since 9/11," held at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey between April 10-11, 2011.

Political stability has been a central theme of policy for all governments and political systems in the history of modern Afghanistan. Since its inception in the mid-nineteenth century, the country experimented with a diverse succession of political systems and state ideologies matched by few other countries' political histories. In the span of less than nine decades since independence in 1919, the Afghan state was substantially restructured at least a dozen times. This volume looks at Afghanistan's historic relations with Central and South Asia, ethno-nationalism and development, Soviet occupation and transformation of relations with Pakistan, stability of the Islamic State and regional cooperation. It examines how Afghanistan's different political systems reformed and readjusted policies to make them more conducive to political stability. Yet political stability, at best, has remained a dream unrealized in Afghanistan.