Strategic Himalayas: Republican Nepal and External Powers Publisher: Pentagon Press The ten years of Maoist insurgency followed by the political vacuum after the abolition of the monarchy and the delay in the drafting of the Constitution has given credence to the role of external powers in shaping the domestic politics in that country. The book examines the nature of external powers’ role during the political transition in Nepal since 2006. It analyses Nepal’s relations with external powers’ in the framework of ‘small and major powers’. ISBN 978-81-8274-761-6, Price: ₹ 995 E-copy available Nihar R. Nayak | | Book
Stability and Growth in South Asia Publisher: Pentagon Press This book examines the forces and processes which have led to relative political stability or unleashed trends in that direction in some countries of South Asia. It also delves into the factors that have stimulated economic growth in some countries, and impeded economic growth in others. Eminent authors from the region examine how far the positive political and economic trends in the region are irreversible or lend themselves to internal convulsions or external influences. There is also a focus on how far inter-state relations within the region have led to stronger intra-regional co-operation, particularly in the economic field. ISBN 978-81-8274-748-7, Price: ₹ 995/- E-copy available Sumita Kumar | | Book
The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East by Marc Lynch Tunisia’s Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was the first to fall to the thundering protests in that country in early 2010. Within a month, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office by masses of protesters chanting against an authoritarian government that had closed its people off from every possible political avenue available to push for greater democratisation. The slogans Irhal [Leave!] and Al-Shaab Yureed Isqat al-Nizam [The People Want to Overthrow the Regime] reverberated from a tiny town on the periphery of the Arab world in Tunisia, to as far away as Yemen. Princy Marin George | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
China’s Nightmare, America’s Dream: India as the Next Global Power by William H. Avery The rise of Asia, particularly China and India, is a significant development in the early 21st century. In the last three decades, China has transformed itself from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing economy. While China’s growing economic power has lifted more than 500 million people out of poverty, it has also modernised its defence sector. China is now playing an increasingly assertive role on the world stage. During the same period, India also registered significant progress in the economic and defence sectors. Saroj Bishoyi | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Confronting the Bomb: Pakistani and Indian Scientists Speak Out by Pervez Hoodbhoy (ed.) Eminent nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy and his co-authors in the seminal volume Confronting the Bomb: Pakistani and Indian Scientists Speak Out have defied the age-old perspective that nuclear weapons are the ultimate armaments of security. While courting controversy, the authors have presented nuclear issues considered taboo and yet critical. This is a bold attempt by a group of eminent scientists who ‘reject nuclear patriotism’ (p. xxii) and have delved into issues of ‘nuclear weapons, war, strategy and politics’ (p. Reshmi Kazi | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Never Forget National Humiliation: Historical Memory in Chinese Politics and Foreign Relations by Zheng Wang Scholars studying China are quite familiar with themes like national humiliation, nationalism as a new source of regime legitimacy vis-à-vis communism, and China’s anti-US and anti-Japan polemic. Zheng Wang’s book Never Forget National Humiliation captures the interrelated nature of these themes in a skilful manner and is a valuable addition to the study of Chinese nationalism. Prashant Kumar Singh | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Religion and Politics in South Asia by Ali Riaz (ed.) In the post-colonial era, religion has emerged as a powerful political force in South Asia. The key question that emerges is: how and why did religion become this potent political ideology in the South Asian region? Aiming to find the answer to this question, Ali Riaz, along with other scholars from the region—namely Abdulkader Sinno, Amalendu Misra, Subho Basu, Farhat Haq and A.R.M. Imtiyaz—offers a comprehensive analysis of the interaction between religion and politics in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Md. Mizanur Rahman | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West by Ahmad Rashid There is immense strategic interest in the Af-Pak region. The US has spent over half a trillion dollars in Afghanistan and perhaps billions in Pakistan. NATO has spent money and sacrificed lives in Afghanistan. India, China, Russia and Iran have given large packages of aid and invested in the country. What will be the future of these trillion dollars of expenditure, huge investments and diplomatic efforts in the Af-PaK region? Ahmad Rashid offers a disturbing answer. Pakistan is on the brink of collapse, Afghanistan is in the midst of a civil war, and the Americans are pulling out. Naser Timory | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Lee Kuan Yew: The Grandmaster’s Insights on China, the United States and the World by Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill with Ali Wyne Without doubt, Lee Kuan Yew has been among the most distinguished statesmen to emerge from the ruins of post-colonial Asia. He orchestrated and led the transformation of Singapore from a poverty-stricken and war-ravaged city into a prosperous and developed city-state in less than four decades by laying robust, hybrid and sustainable economic and political structures. A disciplined, orderly and controlled democracy, Singapore has emerged as a hub for the convergence of western and eastern processes and competencies. Arjun Subramaniam | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Through the Gender Lens: A Feminist Analysis of ‘Security’ Nicole Detraz, International Security and Gender (Dimensions of Security), Polity, UK, 2012, 168 pp., $21.39 (trade paperback), ISBN 978-0745651170 Chayanika Saxena | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
