Asian Politics Research Articles

Introduction to the BASAS 2023 special section

ABSTRACT This special section of Contemporary South Asia brings together a curated selection of papers presented at the 2023 British Association for South Asian Studies (BASAS) Annual Conference, held at the University of Leeds. These papers explore enduring themes of memory politics, state power, and socio-spatial exclusion in South Asia, examining how colonial legacies shape contemporary dynamics. Collectively, the studies underscore the persistence of colonial pasts in modern India’s socio-political landscape and illuminate the creative strategies of resistance employed by marginalized groups. This section contributes to critical discussions on South Asia's politics of memory, space, and resistance, offering fresh insights into the ways power is exercised and contested.

The Politics of Government–Business Relations in Urban Southeast Asia: Introduction and Overview

Recognising the increasingly urban character of Southeast Asian politics, our introduction to this special issue explores the varied patterns of government–business relations found across the region. In some urban centres, businesses form collusive rent-seeking relations with mayors and other politicians; in others, they support governance reform and urban renewal. In beginning to unpick this variation, we briefly highlight what we can learn from literatures on national-level government–business relations and subnational politics – emphasising that local-level government–business relations commonly diverge in significant ways from those at the national level. Next, we survey the articles that follow through three themes: relative strengths of local government and business across distinct urban settings; changes over time in the presence and efficacy of development coalitions spanning government and business; and recent innovations in government–business ties in certain cities. We end by calling for increased research into this important but poorly understood topic.

Gendered Deification: Women Leaders and Political Iconography in Bangladesh

This paper explores gendered political deification in Bangladesh with emphasis on the situation of women politicians in Bangladesh today. Using political deification tools developed by Sen and Nielsen with the help of the concept of political leadership feminism, we look at the interaction of gender with the construction of political imagery. In accomplishing this research, critical discourse analysis and visual semiotics are employed to establish an understanding of the representation and received portrayal of two key Bangladeshi ‘women of power’, namely, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. These findings uncover a multi-layered duality based on the gender and dynastic-political relations in Bangladesh, along with the persona of the supreme leader of a country. We map out how the concept of mother and family relations is mobilized to build strong political discourses, even as the patriarchal framework is both affirmed and subverted. In trying to attain gender equality, female leaders obtain the most political power but are subject to gender roles and, at times, contribute to the perpetuation of those roles. By contextualizing this study in South Asian politics, we are indeed helping the existing scholarly discourse on gender and political iconography, women’s participation in democratization, and the dilemmas of female leadership in patriarchal societies. This study advances knowledge on gender, power, and political symbolism in SA with the potential for introducing similar phenomena in other cultural settings.

Democratizing Reform of Authoritarian Politics in Asia in the Perspective of Comparative Politics: A Comparative Analysis of Japan and the Philippines

Democratizing Reform of Authoritarian Politics in Asia in the Perspective of Comparative Politics: A Comparative Analysis of Japan and the Philippines

The Othering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Abstract The Ahmadiyya movement is one of the most controversial movements within the South Asian Islam from the late 19th and the 20th century. The movement from the beginning was instrumental in reinvigorating the debate on the Islamic orthodoxy and interpretation and re-interpretation of the Islamic texts among Muslims. These controversies and debates over the period of time have entered into the public consciousness particularly among Muslims of South Asia, which has enabled it to become an accepted feature of the contemporary South Asian Politics. As the movement became more public, the distinct identity of Ahmadi took shape and a notion of Ahmadiyyat as distinct expression of Islam became increasingly politicised. Similarly, the emergence of this Ahmadi identity was influenced by modern South Asian politics as much as South Asian Islam was influenced by the modernists. This influence has widened the dichotomy between Ahmadi Islam and the orthodox Islam. The current study focuses on how South Asian Islam’s narratives grew and developed to build and declare Ahmadis as a non-Muslim minority. It also demonstrates how these narratives were exploited over time by both Muslim groups and famous Muslims to malign and portray the Ahmadiyya community as ‘other’ in the eyes of Muslim and state structures. The study focuses primarily on the narratives of the 20th-century Muslim intellectuals such as Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Abul A’la Maududi, and other groups such as Majlis-i-Ahrar, as well as their role in building and constructing narratives that declared Ahmadis as ‘other’ while also changing their identity and status as Muslims.

Millennium Challenge Corporation and Belt and Road Initiative: Reshaping South Asian Politics

Millennium Challenge Corporation and Belt and Road Initiative: Reshaping South Asian Politics

Contemporary India – Sri Lanka Relations in Post-COVID Pandemic Period

India’s foreign policy under the Narendra Modi government has been focused on rebuilding cooperation in South Asia. The Indian foreign policy has been restructured as ‘Neighborhood First,’ which primarily plans to strengthen relations with its South Asian neighbours. In this context, India -Sri Lanka relations have been considered by scholars in South Asian politics in recent times. Relations between both countries during the immediate post-civil war period deteriorated with some better experiences. However, relations have been progressing since 2015 in the context of changing new governments in both countries. This paper examines the contemporary relations between India and Sri Lanka in the post-COVID pandemic era. The research paper is based on secondary data from books and journal articles in the relevant disciplines. Further, recent data was collected from printed and electronic media reports. The collected data were analyzed using a descriptive-analytical method. The economic crisis in Sri Lanka faced many adversities in the country. In this context, India offered her cooperation to rebuild the collapsed economy in Sri Lanka. India extended her financial and humanitarian assistance to the government of Sri Lanka. In addition, India signed some bilateral cooperation pacts in investment projects on energy, economic, development, and cultural relations by enhancing the relations between the two countries and the people-to-people of both countries. In addition, official visits of the two premiers during times of crisis in Sri Lanka initiated mutual relations again. It was proved that India was keen to initiate her policy of ‘Neighborhood First” towards her immediate maritime neighbour.

Inclusivity in Urban Development: The Gender Perspective

This comprehensive document explores the critical intersection of gender, development, and urban planning, emphasizing the need to integrate gender considerations into the development of urban areas. It recognizes that gender roles and inequalities significantly impact the lives of men and women in cities and aims to ensure that urban policies and projects address these disparities, fostering gender equality, inclusion, and sustainability. The document delves into multifaceted dimensions of gender, distinguishing between practical and strategic gender needs. It traces the evolution of gender development, highlighting the importance of mainstreaming gender considerations into development planning. Key indicators like the Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) are discussed as essential tools for assessing gender equity. The report also examines gender planning, emphasizing the need for gender-sensitive policies and addressing institutional concerns. It spotlights the Indian scenario, emphasizing the imperative of gender equality for national progress. Additionally, it discusses the increasing representation of women in Asian politics and the challenges they face. In conclusion, while progress is evident, challenges remain in achieving gender equality in urban environments. This document serves as a valuable resource for policymakers and stakeholders committed to creating more equitable and inclusive cities. Key Words: Gender Development, Gender Inequality, Gender Planning, Women's Empowerment

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND WORLD POLITICS

This essay reviews research on Southeast Asia that has appeared in World Politics , with a focus on articles published since the mid-1970s. Drawing on debates about the nature of the region that are commonly found within the field of Southeast Asian area studies, the essay identifies two axes along which Southeast Asian politics research varies: in its emphasis on the connectedness versus autonomy of the region, and in its focus on individual country experiences versus common regional dynamics. Characterizing the Southeast Asia–focused research in World Politics in this way helps us to understand more generally the relationship between area studies and political science over the past fifty years.

India as a restorationist state: implications for US-India relations and South Asian politics

India as a restorationist state: implications for US-India relations and South Asian politics

‘Those Ridiculous Monks’

Abstract During the Qing Dynasty (1636–1911), Chosŏn Korean tributary envoys regularly sent to Beijing normally stopped for a few days en route in Mukden (Shenyang), the Qing’s secondary capital and the largest city in Manchuria. There they visited one of the local attractions, royal Tibetan Buddhist temples, particularly the Shishengsi, the largest monastery in the city. What drew the envoys to the royal temples? How did they interact with the Mongol lamas? What was their first impression of Tibetan Buddhism – a religion at once familiar and foreign to them? Using extensive records left by the Korean envoys (Yŏnhaengnok), this paper examines the under-studied historical encounter between Korean literati and Tibetan Buddhism. Although not always consistent, the understanding and misunderstanding that the Koreans had with the religion, I argue, reflects their rather complex political and cultural attitudes towards the Qing – a regime that, in the eyes of the Koreans, simultaneously represented China and non-China. The Manchu capital, Mukden, which was closely linked with both Beijing and the Inner Asian frontiers, provided a meeting ground for different ethnic groups, cultures and values in the late Imperial period. The episode demonstrates an initial interaction between East Asia and Inner Asia. Furthermore, by examining how information about Qing Inner Asian politics was filtered and (mis)understood by Koreans, the paper challenges the popular myth that more information naturally leads to comprehensive knowledge.

Asian Political Cartoons. John A.Lent, UP of Mississippi, 2023. 301 pp. $30.00 paper.

Asian Political Cartoons. John A.Lent, UP of Mississippi, 2023. 301 pp. $30.00 paper.

51 Years of India-Bangladesh Bilateral Relations: Opportunities and Challenges

Because of their distinct histories, India and Bangladesh have unique neighbourly relations. India and Bangladesh have completed 51 years of bilateral ties in 2022, beginning in December 1971 with India's recognition of the newly independent People's Republic of Bangladesh. India played a significant role in the formation of Bangladesh during a liberation conflict with Pakistan. There are many things that tie the two nations together, such as a shared history and legacy, linguistic and social ties, and a love of art that reflects the diversity of human expression in music, literature, and other forms. Bangladesh is a geopolitically and strategically important country in India's neighbourhood policy. Bangladesh is especially important to India because of its connectivity with the country's seven landlocked northern sister states. Bangladesh's foreign policy discourse is dominated by the words "Indian factor" and "blocked by India." As a result, India is a top priority for Bangladeshi policymakers. The India-Bangladesh partnership affects millions of people in both countries, as well as in South Asia and beyond. The two nations are presently setting an example in South Asian politics in terms of security cooperation, connectivity, collaboration in the energy and power sectors, social and cultural integration, and bilateral trade. During the COVID-19 period, cooperation between the two nations was crucial. India made a humanitarian gesture at the time by assisting Bangladesh in developing its own vaccine. For more than 51 years, India and Bangladesh have had a more or less friendly relationship. There have been a few tense moments in the relationship's half-century history, most notably during the military regime and the BNP's rule. The golden jubilee year of the bilateral relationship was completed in 2021. The current research aims to provide a beneficial road map for the future by evaluating the history of the bilateral relationship and commenting on the problems and barriers experienced.

How do emotions like trust and fear shape East- Asian Security Dynamics

This article explores the subtle yet significant role of emotions in international relations, particularly focusing on East Asia's development and security dynamics. Emotions are not innate but shaped by external sociopolitical influences, and their understanding involves a combination of feelings and attitudes. The politics of emotion involves battles over entitlement and relevance of feelings, with individual, media, and state actors playing distinct roles. Emotional politics utilizes emotions as a political tool, strategically projecting emotional performances to achieve political goals. Populist politics exploit feelings of uncertainty, fear, and worry to advance their agendas. East Asia's political and social changes and ongoing conflicts involve highly emotional phenomena, such as fear and trust. This essay aims to demonstrate how emotions shape East Asian security as a fundamental political force through individual, state, and media dynamics.

Simulations and Active Learning in the Asian Studies Classroom: A Look at Model Diplomacy

The paper reviews the literature on simulations-based teaching in the discipline of international relations and associated social science fields, tracing the development of frequently-used simulations platforms over the last half century. It will then examine the application of the Council on Foreign Relations Model Diplomacy program in three courses, International Crisis Simulations, Political Development and Politics of Asia at a small liberal arts college in the South from 2018 to 2019, and consider the effectiveness of simulations-based teaching in achieving desired learning outcomes, such as critical and analytical thinking, oral and written communication, and collaboration. Finally, the paper will provide practical steps and suggestions for the integration of Model Diplomacy and other simulations into an array of Asian studies courses.

Impact of administrative state capacity determinants on sustainable healthcare

Public administration implements government policies through prudent administrative practices and state capacity. Based on Asia's political and administrative proficiency and paradox, this study explores the administrative state capacity determinants—bureaucratic quality (BQ) and military in politics (MP)—and their interaction with sustainable public health quality (PHQ) in Asia from 2006 to 2020. With its focus on the scenario and Asian state administrative issues, Goal 04: Health and Well-being of Sustainable Development Goals has been the core aspect of state capacity and sustainable development. Applying the generalized method of moments (GMM) econometric estimation, the study finds that the high risk of poor BQ due to political pressures and policy inconsistency has significantly and negatively impacted PHQ in Asia. In contrast, by overtaking the administration, a high degree of MP and military dominancy has been a progressive force for PHQ in Asia. The interaction of BQ and MP negatively affects the state's social development due to conflict of interest and shredding policy outcomes. This is the first study that deals with the nexus between sustainable development and administrative state capacity determinants of Asia's public sector. The paper finds that an effective and prudent administrative collaboration and expertise-sharing between the bureaucracy and the military accelerates sustainable healthcare in Asia. Furthermore, the study believes that a healthy institutional collaboration will help overcome the development loopholes in Asia, promote PHQ, and accelerate regional development.

Asian Century Dream and Power Politics: A Study of India China Rivalry of 21st Century

The concept of ‘Asian Century’ has yet to be widely embraced among the scholars and practitioners of International Relations. If the Asian Century has indeed become ‘a defining feature of the 21st century’, it matters to discuss the rivalry between two super powers of Asia and its relationships with the outside the region. The current century has been signalled as the age of Asia that is marching forward, beginning of the current century has witnessed the degree of economic progress of emerging powers like China and India. It has significantly surpassing that of the United States and the European Union. The regional economic growth is likely to determine the potential of the current century as ‘Asian Century’. India and China are the two most populous nations globally; geographical neighbours seek global and regional influence through economic progress and a mixed option of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ power. Limits to India’s traditional influence in South Asian regional politics have been exacerbated by China’s recent expansion of trade, military, diplomatic and developmental ties with countries of South Asian, which challenge the India’s hegemonic traditional influence in the South Asian region. In response, India is developing a new, proactive security policy that seeks to counter Chinese political narratives and infrastructure projects in South Asia. The rivalry between India and China has entered its sixth decade. Although the territorial disputes began in the 1950s, it has become a deep-rooted, enduring rivalry since the 1962 border warfare between the two states. Sino-Indian tensions and suspicions have remained over their disputed border, called LAC (the Line of Actual Control). This study examines the idea of ‘Asian Century dream’ in the context of India-China strategic rivalry. The article is structured into three main parts. The first part outlines the concept of the ‘Asian century dream’, while the second part analyzes the current power politics in Asia. Finally, the third part investigates how the competition between the two major Asian powers affects the realization of the Asian century dream.

Policy Studies Yearbook Annual Review 2022–23: Note from the editor and call for papers

<i>Policy Studies Yearbook Annual Review</i> 2022–23: Note from the editor and call for papers

Destabilizing Race in Political Communication: Social Movements as Sites of Political Imagination

ABSTRACT How do social movement actors use consciousness-raising communicative practices to reconfigure political understandings of race? And how can such practices shape the analysis of political communication? We explore these questions by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, semi-structured interviews, and archival materials to examine two case studies: an historical example of Grace Lee Boggs’ structural guidelines for creating a revolutionary study group in the Asian Political Alliance and a contemporary example of Equality Labs’ anti-caste political organizing by engaging across racial and caste social hierarchies. These cases illustrate the analytic value of engaging alternative theoretical frameworks of race and politics from critical ethnic studies, feminist of color scholarship, and social movements as rich sites of political theory through cultivating political consciousness in service of radical political imaginations. This article offers two main contributions to the field of political communication. First, by looking at the creative work of racial theorizing within social movements, we destabilize the limits of race as a demographic category. Second, we demonstrate the analytic value of studying political education and consciousness-raising as communicative practices that emphasize relational reconfigurations of race. This article recasts racial political discourse from public opinion and campaign messaging measured quantitatively to political imaginations that must be interpreted within historical and material contexts. As our cases demonstrate, centering the shifting category of race within movement building opens up the field of political communication to the communicative processes of consciousness-building and also offers dynamic understandings of race and racialization.

Finding the trade-security nexus: Taiwan’s economic statecraft from 2009 to 2021

Over the last few decades, China has become one of the most important foreign investment destinations and centers of economic development in Asia. China’s growing economic clout and coercive measures lead to the following empirical puzzles: how has Taiwan perceived China’s increasing military capabilities and economic influence? What are the major factors that facilitate or constrain the role of a government agency of a weaker state in addressing the economic power of a stronger one? More specifically, what has been the purpose of Taiwan’s economic statecraft? Based on Taiwan’s official statements, regional trade data, and newspaper coverage in Chinese and English, this study investigates both positive and negative evaluations of China-Taiwan trade from 2009 to 2021. From 2009 to 2016, President Ma Ying-jeou adopted a desecuritization strategy in normalizing bilateral trade with China, and he actively promoted greater liberalization of Taiwan’s financial and service sectors for China’s investment. From 2016 to 2021, President Tsai Ing-wen employed a securitization strategy in light of the risks of economic reliance on China’s markets. The article proceeds as follows. First, it engages the current literature on economic statecraft, China-Taiwan relations, and Asian politics. Second, this study offers a framework of desecuritization and securitization of Taiwan’s trade toward China, and it highlights how the political leaders in Taiwan attempt to find a balance between trade and security. Third, it provides in-depth case studies on how Taiwan executed desecuritization and securitization strategies. Finally, it concludes with some initial thoughts on the studies of comparative economic statecraft, and provides policy implications for countries in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.