Energy security has become a central concern for all the countries in the Asian region and the search for sufficient sources of energy to fuel economic growth has drastically influenced relations among the South Asian countries as well as their respective relations with their neighbours China, Myanmar, Iran, and Afghanistan. The recent nuclear deal between India and the US is also indicative of how energy and power politics are linked and how these new inter-linkages underlie relations between states. This book aims to give a South Asian perspective on the geopolitics of energy, with a central focus on India. The chapters address how India's global and regional foreign policy making has changed in light of India's search for energy and how this is affecting the relationship on a global level between India and the US, as well as on a regional level between India and the other Asian countries. The book also offers views from Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as how this shifting reality is affecting relations between India and Southeast Asia.

India will soon be the world's most populated country and its political development will shape the world of the 21st century. Yet Hindu nationalism - at the helm of contemporary Indian politics - is not well understood outside of India, and its links to the global neoliberal trajectory have not been explored. Covering 30 years of Indian politics, this book shows for the first time the importance of education in propagating the acceptance of Hindu nationalism within a neolberal system, including the reframing of the concept of Indian citizenship. The first five years of Modi rule failed to bring about the development that had been promised and have seen India's rapid change from a largely inclusive society to one where religious minorities are denied their basic rights.

India will soon be the world's most populated country and its political development will shape the world of the 21st century. Yet Hindu nationalism - at the helm of contemporary Indian politics - is not well understood outside of India, and its links to the global neoliberal trajectory have not been explored. Covering 30 years of Indian politics, this book shows for the first time the importance of education in propagating the acceptance of Hindu nationalism within a neolberal system, including the reframing of the concept of Indian citizenship. The first five years of Modi rule failed to bring about the development that had been promised and have seen India's rapid change from a largely inclusive society to one where religious minorities are denied their basic rights.

The book discusses the implications of globalization on education from the perspective of social justice. It looks at two countries - India and the UK - to look at how global economic and cultural processes are mediated through nation states, institutional structures and the aspirations of different social groups. It seeks to resituate the debates around education and social justice in policy, research and public discourse by highlighting the need for a more nuanced understanding of globalization and education. It also demonstrates the effects of economic dimensions - the politics of neoliberalism, and how this has shifted the understanding of state responsibilities and marginalized issues pertaining to the agenda of social justice.

This title was first published in 2001. An important analysis of the links between the Indian Diaspora and the state and how this Diaspora can influence economic and foreign policy making in their country of origin. M.C. Lall focuses on India, presenting an unusual case whereby the Indian government in post- independence years ostracized its Diaspora despite the need for outside help with India's economic development. This in-depth study of the failure of the Indian government to make good use of its Diaspora looks at the reasons why India did not cultivate a relationship after independence; why there was still no change even in light of its economic liberalization and what have been the consequences of this missing relationship.

The book discusses the implications of globalization on education from the perspective of social justice. It looks at two countries -- India and the UK -- to look at how global economic and cultural processes are mediated through nation states, institutional structures and the aspirations of different social groups. It seeks to resituate the debates around education and social justice in policy, research and public discourse by highlighting the need for a more nuanced understanding of globalization and education. It also demonstrates the effects of economic dimensions -- the politics of neoliberalism, and how this has shifted the understanding of state responsibilities and marginalized issues pertaining to the agenda of social justice.

Civil wars and internal conflicts pose the greatest threat to international peace and security in the twenty-first century. Nowhere is this problem more acute than in East Asia and the Pacific, which has far more of its share of such conflicts. Unraveling Internal Conflicts in East Asia and the Pacific: Incidence, Consequences, and Resolution, edited by Jacob Bercovitch and Karl DeRouen, Jr., is a book of originally commissioned essays on civil wars which provide a compelling area of inquiry. Many of the Asia-Pacific region's wars are very long (such as in Myanmar), some tend to recur (also in Myanmar); some involve religion (Philippines, Thailand), and some (Aceh, Bougainville, East Timor) of the longest have ended in the last few years. In short, the region presents a variety of interesting dynamics that merit close attention in one volume. The aim of Unraveling Internal Conflicts in East Asia and the Pacific is to provide an original look at these civil wars. The unique feature of the book is that it brings a variety of perspectives together into one volume. Bercovitch and DeRouen, Jr., do this in four sections: The first, titled "Security and Internal Conflicts in the Region," is an overview of conflict and conflict management in the region. Section Two is called "Features of Conflict in the Region." Here the authors cover conflict contours, including intractability, conflict resolution, recurrence, and Islam. Section Three, "External Involvement in Regional Conflicts," focuses on third party intervention in regional conflicts. The individual chapters cover mediation, peacekeeping, and other forms of third party involvement. The final section ties the chapters together. Unraveling Internal Conflicts in East Asia and the Pacific: Incidence, Consequences, and Resolution, edited by Jacob Bercovitch and Karl DeRouen, Jr., provides a fresh and comprehensive look at conflict in the part of the world where internal conflict is most prevalent.

This book offers a fresh and comparative approach in questioning what education is being used for and what the effects of the politicisation of education are on Asian societies in the era of globalisation. Education has been used as a political tool throughout the ages and across the whole world to define national identity and underlie the political rationale of regimes. In the contemporary, globalising world there are particularly interesting examples of this throughout Asia, ranging from the new definition of Indian national identity as a Hindu identity (to contrast with Pakistan's Islamic identity), to particular versions of nationalism in China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam. In Asia education systems have their origins in processes of state formation aimed either at bolstering 'self-strengthening' resistance to the encroachments of Western and/or Asian imperialism, or at furthering projects of post-colonial nation-building. State elites have sought to popularise powerful visions of nationhood, to equip these visions with a historical 'back-story', and to endow them with the maximum sentimental charge. This book explores all of these developments, emphasising that education is seen by nations across Asia, as elsewhere, as more than simply a tool for economic development, and that issues of national identity and the tolerance - or lack of it - of ethnic, cultural or religious diversity can be at least as important as issues of literacy and access. Interdisciplinary and unique in its analysis, this book will be of interest to scholars of political science, research in education and Asian Studies.

This book offers a fresh and comparative approach in questioning what education is being used for and what the effects of the politicisation of education are on Asian societies in the era of globalisation. Education has been used as a political tool throughout the ages and across the whole world to define national identity and underlie the political rationale of regimes. In the contemporary, globalising world there are particularly interesting examples of this throughout Asia, ranging from the new definition of Indian national identity as a Hindu identity (to contrast with Pakistan's Islamic identity), to particular versions of nationalism in China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam. In Asia education systems have their origins in processes of state formation aimed either at bolstering 'self-strengthening' resistance to the encroachments of Western and/or Asian imperialism, or at furthering projects of post-colonial nation-building. State elites have sought to popularise powerful visions of nationhood, to equip these visions with a historical 'back-story', and to endow them with the maximum sentimental charge. This book explores all of these developments, emphasising that education is seen by nations across Asia, as elsewhere, as more than simply a tool for economic development, and that issues of national identity and the tolerance - or lack of it - of ethnic, cultural or religious diversity can be at least as important as issues of literacy and access. Interdisciplinary and unique in its analysis, this book will be of interest to scholars of political science, research in education and Asian Studies.

The role of the security establishment in Pakistan has been strengthened in a post-Musharraf era as social institutions are increasingly drawn into the security agenda. Pakistan's problems are often explained through the lens of ethnic or religious differences, the tense relationship between democracy and the Pakistan military, or geopolitics and terrorism, without taking into account young citizens' role in questioning the state and the role of the education system. Based on new research and interviews with more than 1900 Pakistanis aged 16-28 the authors examine young people's understanding of citizenship, political participation, the state and terrorism in post-Musharraf Pakistan. The authors explore the relationship between the youth and the security state, highlighting how the educational institutions, social media, political activism and the entire nature of the social contract in Pakistan has been increasingly securitized. The focus is on the voices of young Pakistanis, their views on state accountability (or lack thereof), political literacy and participation, and the continued problem of terrorism that is transforming their views of both their country and the world today. With 67% of the country's population under the age of 30, this book is a unique window into how Pakistan is likely to evolve in the next couple of decades.

Marie Lall's book seeks to uncover and explain the recent political and economic reforms implemented in post-military Myanmar, focussing on key turning-points that ushered in the current transformation programme, particularly those affecting education, NGOs and social justice.She maps the main reform priorities, explaining how they are interconnected, and what has been achieved, which amount to the first tentative steps towards 'democratisation', albeit under the umbrella of President Thein Sein's controlled and more inclusive governance. Beyond the building site that is now Yangon, burgeoning urban car ownership and ubiquitous mobile phone use, there remains a widening gap, sharpened by inflation, between rural and urban Myanmar, at social, economic and political levels. Peasants are losing their livelihoods to development schemes that are being created to bring in foreign investment, and social justice is largely absent from the country's reform agenda.While the country has changed significantly, has the West been gulled into mistaking 'discipline-flourishing democracy' for true participatory democracy?Will the hopes of Aung San Suu Kyi coming to power in Yangon at the head of the NLD through an open and fair ballot ever be realised? These and other questions are scrutinised in this shrewd analysis of post-military Myanmar.

Myanmar is going through a period of profound and contested transition. The country has experienced widespread if sometimes uneven reforms, including the start of a peace process between the government and Myanmar Army, and some two dozen ethnic armed organizations, which had long been fighting for greater autonomy from the militarized and Burman-dominated state. This book brings together chapters by Burmese and foreign experts, and contributions from community and political leaders, who discuss the meaning of citizenship in Myanmar/Burma. The book explores citizenship in relation to three broad categories: issues of identity and conflict; debates around concepts and practices of citizenship; and inter- and intra-community issues, including Buddhist-Muslim relations. This is the first volume to address these issues, understanding and resolving which will be central to Myanmar's continued transition away from violence and authoritarianism.

The role of the security establishment in Pakistan has been strengthened in a post-Musharraf era as social institutions are increasingly drawn into the security agenda. Pakistan’s problems are often explained through the lens of ethnic or religious differences, the tense relationship between democracy and the Pakistan military, or geopolitics and terrorism, without taking into account young citizens’ role in questioning the state and the role of the education system. Based on new research and interviews with more than 1900 Pakistanis aged 16-28 the authors examine young people’s understanding of citizenship, political participation, the state and terrorism in post-Musharraf Pakistan. The authors explore the relationship between the youth and the security state, highlighting how the educational institutions, social media, political activism and the entire nature of the social contract in Pakistan has been increasingly securitized. The focus is on the voices of young Pakistanis, their views on state accountability (or lack thereof), political literacy and participation, and the continued problem of terrorism that is transforming their views of both their country and the world today. With 67% of the country's population under the age of 30, this book is a unique window into how Pakistan is likely to evolve in the next couple of decades.