Geo-politics of South Asia
Fall 2016 Tuesdays
Instructor: Ambassador (Rtd) Touqir Hussain
COURSE DESCRIPTION
South Asia has changed and so has basis of U.S. and other big powers’ relations with it The currents of change, spawned by the end of the Cold War, globalization, the region’s nuclearization, resurgence of China and the emerging shift in the balance of power in Asia, the rise of religious extremism and war on terrorism, have been flowing in varying directions presenting new threats, challenges and opportunities.
The course will look at the region against the historical background of its relations with the world. But the major focus will be on the dramatic developments within South Asia during and since 90’s and the region’s evolving relations with the US, China, Russia, Japan, Iran, the Middle East and the Central Asia. Especially how US is helping India in realizing its aspirations for a big power status, and a factor of stability in the region, and Pakistan in its salvation from chronic weaknesses by building its capacity to reform itself. The course will also study Pakistan’s slow but appreciable march to political stability and good governance through democratization the prospects for which have never been more promising.
The course will look at the whole range of threats, opportunities and challenges that South Asia faces. It will among other issues focus on the complexities of the Afghanistan situation in the context of the ongoing Afghanistan war as well as the end game as American forces withdraw from there in 2014.
The region also compels attention because of great strategic and economic opportunities especially in India with its projection of military power, marked economic and technological achievement and potential, its democratic structure, and its aspirations for big power status and a plausible balancer of China. And also how the US and its energy deficient allies Europe and Japan are coordinating their policies to promote regional peace and stability in South Asia and pursuing a policy of benign encirclement of China and containment of Russia by courting countries on their periphery. The course will examine these issues.
The region is also getting increasingly connected with Iran with because of the lengthening strategic shadow of China that has important relations with Iran which is seen as an important bridge between the Middle East and South Asia. It is mainly so because of Iran’s important role in Afghanistan and its energy cooperation with India and Pakistan through a planned gas pipeline in which China is investing. Not to forget that Iran and India are cooperating to build road and rail links with Afghanistan to enhance their trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia all of which may one day link up with China's much touted One Road One Belt concept of the Chinese version of the Silk Road.
The course may thus also be relevant to an extent for those interested in the Middle Eastern studies.
Last but not least, the course will also look at the relations between India and Pakistan that are home to more than a billion people and together they account for almost 20 percent of the world's population. Four decades of dynamic change and social turbulence has seen them emerge as nuclear powers. Although the countries share centuries of common history and they emerged from a common independence movement, their post-colonial developments have been strikingly different.
In this class, we will compare the similarities and differences of India, Pakistan. In particular, we will investigate why India has been able to consolidate its democracy while Pakistan has suffered through long periods of authoritarian rule. What are the sources of religious fundamentalism in each country? What are the consequences of economic, political, and cultural globalization for the two countries as well as smaller states of South Asia specially their search for stability, development and democracy?
STUDENT PARTICIPATION
This is a seminar as well as a lecture class and its success would no doubt also depend on student contribution. Attendance, preparation, and participation are thus essential and will be explicitly noted. Students will be expected to read for comprehension approximately 100 pages per week and will be expected to participate actively in seminar sessions based on their critical understanding of assigned readings. I will introduce, provide context to, and summarize ideas, and will bring my own expertise and insights as a policy practitioner to bear on extensive reading that the students are expected to do. And then we will mostly discuss, debate and brainstorm. Students will be challenged to develop bold and innovative thinking habits and skills. Participation grades will be decided by the quantity and the quality of your contributions.
I will encourage the students to see beyond the headlines, and develop critical faculties to discriminate between myth and reality, words and deeds, and perceptions and facts. Clarity of thought and expression in asking good questions but also in writing good analytical papers will be on premium.
I will also circulate articles from newspapers and magazines relevant to the course. I also expect all students to share material they have found relevant with me for onward transmission to the class. Credit will be given to those students who can cite relevant books and articles during class discussions. The careful reading and absorption of the material will advance the understanding and comprehension of students
Course Requirements and Grading:
Students will be evaluated in three ways:
1. Quality of questions and opinions expressed in the class will play an important role in making the class a stimulating intellectual experience for everyone. As a consequence, class attendance, preparation, and participation in discussions will account for an important part of your grade -- 35 percent of the final grade.
2. Each student will give one class presentation during the course. Students will be free to choose their topics from a wide ranging list provided by me sometime after the fourth or fifth seminar when enough basic ground has been covered and I have also got a fair idea of the students’ backgrounds and exposure to the issues. The topics will complement the issues that will be the focus of class discussion. These presentations will last for no more than 10-15 minutes each and depending on the number of students in the course will be either one or more per seminar. The class will critically discuss the presentations. The discussion will be moderated by me and I will also ask and raise questions and give my own input to carry forward the discussion. In the light of the discussion the student will then amend if necessary the presentation and submit it to me a final written version of 4-6 pages the following week. The presentations and papers will count for 30 percent of your grade.
3. A well developed research paper which will constitute 35% of the grade. The research paper will make an in depth analysis of the topic selected after its approval by me. The topic will be proposed by the student and approved by the Instructor. The topic encapsulated in a one paragraph outline, should be selected and submitted to me. The paper should be not less than 16 pages (not including the cover page and bibliography) and no more than 20 typed double spaced pages. The topic should be submitted to me in writing by Tuesday, October 19. An approved topic cannot be changed except in consultation with me. The paper is due on Tuesday December 7. The papers will be graded based on the coherence of their logic, their factual accuracy, and their demonstration of mastery of the materials covered in the course. You must be concise and to the point. There will be no room for fluff in these analyses and thus you should plan on editing them multiple times.
BOOKS
- India: the Emerging Power
Stephen Cohen
Brookings University Press 2001
- Shooting for a Century
Stephen Cohen
Brookings Institution Press 2013
- Riaz Mohammad Khan. Afghanistan and Pakistan: Conflict, Extremism, and Resistance to Modernity (Johns Hopkins University Press) 2011
General readings every week:
Students are required to monitor and absorb following newspaper and weekly magazine websites from India and Pakistan:
INDIA
The Hindu
Indian Express
DNA India
Outlook magazine
PAKISTAN
Dawn
The News
Pakistan Today
Express Tribune
Friday Times
LIST OF SEMINARS
(I) Introduction
SEMINAR 1 (8/30). An introduction to the course, and to South Asia: History, politics, religion and culture.
For a brief historical background—Excerpts from J M Roberts’ Penguin History of the World (2004) Pages 422-440; 638-641; 815-818; 849-857; 979-983; 1046-1048; 1117-1118; 1159-60
(II) Democracy, social issues and development.
SEMINAR 2(9/6). Pakistan’s founding roots—the idea of Pakistan and the state in Pakistan: The military state and the reinvention of Islam Pakistan’s frayed social fabric, faltering economic development and troubled democracy.
Steve Cohen, The Idea of Pakistan pp. 1-38.
Hamza Alavi, “Social Forces and Ideology in the Making of Pakistan,” Economic and Political Weekly ((December 21, 2002) pp. 5119-24.
Akbar Ahmed, "Jinnah and the Quest for Muslim Identity," History Today 44 (September 94) pp. 34-40.
Vali Nasr, “Military Rule, Islamism and Democracy in Pakistan,” Middle East Journal 58:2 (Spring 2004) pp. 195-210.
Aqil Shah, “Pakistan’s ‘Armored’ Democracy,” Journal of Democracy 14:4 (October 2003) pp. 26-40.
SEMINAR 3 (9/13). How did India consolidate its democracy?
India’s Government Institutions, federalism and nation-making
Jyotindra Dasgupta “India’s federal design and multicultural national construction,” in Atul Kohli (ed.) The Success of India’s Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. pp. 49-77.
James Manor, “Center-State Relations,” in Kohli, 78-102.
Framework: the governing Institutions by Stanley Kochanek
Lecture by the instructor “How India became democratic”.
SEMINAR 4 (9/20). Challenges of nation and state building in South Asia’s smaller stateswith special focus on Bangla Desh and Sri Lanka
Devin Hagerty: South Asia in World Politics–Pages 89-112
(III) Contrasting national identities and foreign policies
SEMINAR 5 (9/27). India’s Foreign Policy: an historical analysis
Devin Hagerty: South Asia and the World Politics—Introduction and Pages 11-48 and 135-157
Steve Cohen: India the Emerging Power Pages 36-65; 198-228
India’ self image by its leadership
Foreign Affairs July/August 2006 issue: Raja Mohan; India and Balance of Power
Washington Quarterly 26 no I Winter 2002-03 A Paradigm Shift Towards South Asia
SEMINAR6 (10/4). Pakistan’s Foreign Policy
Pakistan From Mosque to the Military
Hussain Haqqani Ch 1 Identity and ideology Pages 1-50
S M Burke Pakistan’s Foreign Policy: An Historical Analysis
Ch 1 Partition and Indo Pakistani disputes Pages 3-15; Part III Ch 11 Relations with India PP 219-239 Ch 14 The India Pakistani wars of 1965 Pages 318-357
Devin Hagerty: South Asia and the World Politics
Ch 2 Pakistan’s Foreign Relations PP 49-70
S M Burke and Lawrence Ziring Pakistan’s Foreign Policy-An Historical Analysis
Devin Hagerty: South Asia and the World Politics Pages—49-70
Dennis Kux US and Pakistan: Disenchanted Allies
Steve Cohen The Idea of Pakistan PP 198-228
(IV) Issues of war and peace
SEMINAR 7 (10/11). Seeds of conflict between India and Pakistan : The Kashmir Dispute and incompatible national identities. Kashmir Jihad
sikand.changing-course-of-kashmiri-struggle.pdf
S. M. Burke and Lawrence Ziring Pakistan’s Foreign Policy-An Historical Analysis
Part 1 Ch 2 The Non Aligned years 1947-53 The Kashmir Dispute PP16-46; Ch 3 Indo Pakistani crises and efforts at Conciliation Pages 47-61
The Regional and Ethnic Conflicts: Perspectives from the Front Lines: An Anthology of International Views and Voices on Ethno-Political Conflicts Ed Judy Carter
Ch 3 Jammu and Kashmir : An Indian View by Dipankar Banerjee PP 32-40
Kashmir Dispute by Ambassador Touqir Hussain PP 41-55
Steve Coll Kashmir: Back Channel diplomacy
SEMINAR 8 (10/18).Pakistan and Afghanistan : seeds of conflict of another kind
S. M. Burke and Lawrence Ziring Pakistan’s Foreign Policy-An Historical Analysis
Chapter on Afghanistan (PP 68-90)
Pakistan From Mosque to the Military
Hussain Haqqani Ch 5 Afghan Jihad Pages 159-198
(V) Rise of extremism, militancy, and the threat of terrorism
SEMINAR 9 (10/25). Rise of militant Islam: contribution by the 1980’s Afghan Jihad and its aftermath; and the rise of Jihadi culture in Pakistan and Taliban; the terrorist threat to India
Post 1979 Pakistan: what went wrong: Islam, Extremism and
Militancy
Haqqani, Husain Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military
(2005)
Chapters 5 and 7
Islam and Pakistan Touqir Hussain Pages 97--126
Shiping, Hua (ed.) Democratization of Asia (University of
Louisville Press) 2009 (text will be provided by the instructor )
Hilaly, A.Z. “Costs and benefits of the Afghan war for Pakistan”
Contemporary South Asia, (2002) 11(3), pp. 291-310
( text will be provided by the instructor)
Lashkar e Taiba (text will be provided by the instructor)
SEMINAR 10 (11/1).The Afghanistan war , the war on terrorism and Pakistan
US Institute of Peace Special Report by Ambassador Touqir Hussain (2005) US Pakistan Engagement: the War on terrorism and Beyond .
War on terrorism: where the US went wrong
Touqir Hussain Asian Journal of Public Affairs 2007
S Akbarzadeh (ed): America's Challenges in the Greater Middle East: The Obama Administration's Policies. Palgrave Macmillan (July 2011) Pakistan: A
Rashid, A. Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in
Central Asia, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2001:
Part 1 History of the Rise of Taliban
SEMINAR 11 (11/8).Afghanistan: Competing interests of Pakistan and India
Fair, Christine “India in Afghanistan and Beyond: Opportunities and
Constraints” The Century Foundation, September 21010. Available at:
opportunities-and-constraints
Bajoria, Jayshree “India-Afghanistan Relations”Council on
Foreign Relations, July 2009. Available at:
<(
indiaafghanistan_relations.html#p3)>
Zyman, Aly. “India’s Increased Involvement in Afghanistan and
Central Asia: Implications for Pakistan.” Islamabad Policy Research
Institute (IPRI) Journal. (2003).
Fair, C. Christine. “Pakistan's Relations with Central Asia: Is Past
Prologue?” Journal of Strategic Studies. 31.2 (2008): 201-227.
Raghavan, V.R. “India and the Global Power Shift”, a paper
presented at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Global
Forces 2008 Conference, Canberra. Delhi Policy Group. Available at:
india_and_the_global_power_shift.pdf
India’ self image by its leadership
(VI) The emerging economic and strategic landscape of the region
SEMINAR 12 (11/29). China and South Asia: One Road One Belt
Papers to be circulated by the instructor
ECO; Shanghai Five;
SAARC
Shambaugh, David “Asia in Transition: The Evolving Regional
Order” The Rise of Asia, Vol. 105.690.153, Current History, 2006.
Mohan, Raja C. “India and the Balance of Power”, Foreign
Affairs July/August 2006
SEMINAR 13 (12/6). Afghanistan: Competing interests of Pakistan, India and Iran
Rubin, Barnett R., and Abubakar Siddique. "Resolving the Pakistan- Afghanistan Stalemate." United States Institute of Peace. Oct. 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <
1. Fair, Christine “India in Afghanistan and Beyond: Opportunities and
Constraints” The Century Foundation, September 2010. Available at:
opportunities-and-constraints
2. Bajoria, Jayshree “India-Afghanistan Relations” Council on
Foreign Relations, July 2009. Available at:
<(
indiaafghanistan_relations.html#p3)>
3. Zyman, Aly. “India’s Increased Involvement in Afghanistan and
Central Asia: Implications for Pakistan.” Islamabad Policy Research
Institute (IPRI) Journal. (2003).
4. Rubin, Barnett R., and Abubakar Siddique. "Resolving the
Pakistan- Afghanistan Stalemate." United States Institute of Peace.
Oct. 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <
publications/resolving-pakistan-afghanistan-stalemate>.
5. Iran and Afghanistan ( readings to be provided by the instructor)
6. Raghavan, V.R. “India and the Global Power Shift”, a paper
presented at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Global
Forces 2008 Conference, Canberra. Delhi Policy Group. Available at:
india_and_the_global_power_shift.pdf
7. India’ self image by its leadership
SEMINAR 14 (12/13).Central Asia, Iran and South Asia
IPI ( Iran Pakistan and India pipeline) Vs Tapi ( Turkemanistan Afghanistan Pakistan and India pipeline) : readings to be provided by the instructor
Ahmed Rashid: Militant Islam, oil, and fundamentalism in Central Asia
Harvard Speaker on the Pipelines
Fair, C. Christine. “Indo-Iranian Ties: Thicker Than Oil.” Middle East Review of International Affairs. 11.1 (2007): 41-58.
Pant, Harsh V. “India and Iran: An ‘Axis’ in the Making?” Asian Survey. 64.3 (2004): 369-383.
Pant, Harsh V. “Pakistan and Iran’s Dysfunctional Relationship.” Middle East Quarterly. 14.2 (2009): 43-50.
Lodhi, Maleeha, “Cementing a Strategic Partnership” The News,
December 28th, 2010. Available at:
ID=22489&Cat=9
Victor, David G. and Yueh, Linda “The New Energy Order:
Managing Insecurities in the 21st Century”, Foreign Affairs, Jan/
Feb 2010.
Additional reading material to be circulated by the instructor
Academic Integrity Policy
Syracuse University’s academic integrity policy reflects the high value that we, as a university community, place on honesty in academic work. The policy defines our expectations for academic honesty and holds students accountable for the integrity of all work they submit. Students should understand that it is their responsibility to learn about course-specific expectations, as well as about university-wide academic integrity expectations. The university policy governs appropriate citation and use of sources, the integrity of work submitted in exams and assignments, and the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other verification of participation in class activities. The policy also prohibits students from submitting the same written work in more than one class without receiving written authorization in advance from both instructors. The presumptive penalty for a first instance of academic dishonesty by an undergraduate student is course failure, accompanied by a transcript notation indicating that the failure resulted from a violation of academic integrity policy. The presumptive penalty for a first instance of academic dishonesty by a graduate student is suspension or expulsion. SU students are required to read an online summary of the university’s academic integrity expectations and provide an electronic signature agreeing to abide by them twice a year during pre-term check-in on MySlice. For more information and the complete policy, see