Political Economy & National Security in South Asia

INTL 4360 Fall 2004

Course Description

South Asia represents one-sixth of the global population and is amongst the poorest regions of the world. It is a region that encompasses Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives. The region has been long neglected in US policy, until events like the 1998 nuclear tests by India and Pakistan, and the post 9/11 US involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan drew US attention. Other long-term trends influencing US relations with the region include the economic & technological success of India, the discovery of natural gas in Bangladesh, and the growing radicalization of Islamic movements in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. In sum, the region is likely to become important for US policy for both security (nuclear, missile, terrorism) and economic (investment, technology cooperation) reasons.

This course will focus on the four largest countries of this region – India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The first few classes will introduce the students to a broad framework of political economy and national security issues. The second part of the course will focus on major economic and security scenarios facing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The final part of the course will explore the role of extra-regional actors (Russia, China, United States), and the problems of nuclear proliferation and terrorism throughout the region.

Lectures, readings, and discussions will focus on the following:

Dimensions of political economy

a.   Dominant political groups

b.   Economic Profiles (economic liberalization policies, impact of globalization, implications for the future)

Dimensions of national and regional security

a.  External security issues (cross-national disputes over territory, development of nuclear, missile and conventional weapons, terrorism, prospects for arms control and disarmament, relations with major powers such as United States, Russia, and China)

b. Internal security issues (immigration, insurgencies, drug trafficking) 

Required Texts:

A collection of maps, figures, and some readings have been put together in a binder entitled “South Asia: Political Economy and National Security.” These will be available for purchase at Bel Jean in downtown.

The online syllabus has links to all other readings for this course. Students will, therefore, be expected to access the class website http://www.arches.uga.edu/~sga/ regularly for readings as well as more information about assignments and periodic announcements.

Some of the documents on the reading list require that your computer have the free Adobe Acrobat reader installed, which you can download at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.

In addition to the assigned readings, students are required to read the following:

1. The BBC webpage on South Asia news at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/default.stm
2. New York Times international section at http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.html

Students are strongly advised to bookmark these two websites on their computer and to keep electronic copies of all the assignments they submit to the instructor.

Students should also note that 10 percent of their grade will depend upon their participation in class discussions (not on mere attendance) – i.e. either initiating discussion on assigned readings or answering questions raised by the instructor or by classmates about events and opinions relating to South Asia.

Course Requirements:
Classroom Participation, 10%
Two exams, 40%(20% each)
Two 2-page Memos, 30% (15% each)
Final exam, 20%