India & Cambridge - Cambridge University Press India

POLITICSAmartya Mukhopadhyay is Professor of Political Science atthe Calcutta University, Kolkata, and formerly Professor,Political Science and Dean, Arts Faculty, Kalyani University.9788175967274 409pp HB ` 795.00The Politics of Extremismin South AsiaDeepa M. OllapallySouth Asia is home to a range ofextremist groups from thejihadists of Pakistan to the TamilTigers of Sri Lanka. In the popularmind, extremism and terrorism areinvariably linked to ethnic andreligious factors. Yet the dominanthistory of South Asia is notable fortolerance and co-existence,despite highly plural societies.Deepa Ollapally examines extremist groups in Kashmir,Afghanistan, Northeast India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and SriLanka to offer a fresh perspective on the causes ofextremism. What accounts for its rise in societies nothistorically predisposed to extremism? What determines thewinners and losers in the identity struggles in South Asia?What tips the balance between more moderate versusextremist outcomes? The book argues that politics, interstate,and international relations often play a moreimportant role in the rise of extremism in South Asia thanreligious identity, poverty, and state repression.Deepa M. Ollapally is Professorial Lecturer, and theAssociate Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies atthe Eliott School of International Affairs at the GeorgeWashington University, Washington DC.1 map9780521749077 250pp PB ` 395.00Nation-Building andForeign Policy in India: AnIdentity-Strategy ConflictTobias EngelmeierNation-Building and Foreign Policyin India: An Identity–StrategyConflict presents an evaluation ofIndian foreign policy. It analysesthe unusual concern of Indianstrategic thinking about politicalvalues. The book argues that inIndian foreign policy, there hasbeen a shift from a strict concernfor national interest towards idealist considerations. Thuscreating what the author calls an ‘idealist inflection’. Thisinflection does not have its roots in cultural aspects orgrand strategy. Instead, it is best understood with referenceto the political process of nation-building, characterised bythe specific choices and decisions taken by the two leadingprotagonists of the Indian National Movement – MohandasKaramchand Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The values theychose to place at the heart of India’s national identity havespilt into the country’s foreign policy. The book then goeson to study the changes in India’s foreign policy andnational identity since Nehru’s time until today.Nation-Building and Foreign Policy in India: An Identity–Strategy Conflict will be of interest to academicians, policymakersand general readers with an interest in foreignpolicy and international relations.Tobias F. Engelmeier is the founder and director of theenvironmental consulting company, Bridge to India.9788175966352 312pp HB ` 895.00Liberal Perspectives forSouth AsiaRajiva Wijesinha (ed)Liberal Perspectives for South Asiadiscusses the essentials of theliberal philosophy, while alsoindicating how appropriate it is inthe South Asian context. In thepast, the subcontinent wasrenowned for the skill with whichit took up the dominant ideologiesof the west and articulated themfor the Asian context. In the postcolonialperiod, the only dominant ideology that wassidetracked by all political parties was liberalism, theideology that promoted freedom of the individual. The ideaof a book about the need for liberalism in the subcontinentwas the brainchild of Chanaka Amaratunga, who set up thefirst avowedly Liberal Party in Sri Lanka.Many political parties have implemented liberal policies onan ad hoc basis and without a proper framework to guidethem. Not all parties would accept all aspects of a liberalprogramme, however, in a context in which many parties areseeking an ideology that accords both with the presenttimes and trends, and also with some of the goals theyaccepted in the past. It is hoped that this volume willprovide food for thought and ideas for adoption andincorporation within the party programme. Ranging fromerudite expositions of classic liberal thinkers to livelydiscussions of liberal economic principles put into practiceby imaginative entrepreneurs, this volume is essentialreading for a region making a swift transition into thecontemporary, globalized world.Rajiva Wijesinha is Senior Professor of Languages atSabaragamuwa University.9788175966628 255pp HB ` 795.00order online at www.cambridgeindia.org31