Security Iss in South Asia

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

South Asia includes the countries of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives. Some definitions of South Asia also include Afghanistan. I do as well for purposes of this course. Security Issues in South Asia is a survey of the states, societies, and conflict dynamics in the region. Rather than surveying current events, however, the course will help students understand the roots of domestic and international conflict; and analyze the motivations of state and non-state actors across the region. The course is organized in three parts. Part I focuses on state-society relations and state consolidation in pre-modern South Asia. In this section, we survey the diverse societies of the South Asia region; the efforts of prior states and empires—including the Mughals, the British, various Afghan kings, and 20th century states—to rule these societies; and the administrative and security challenges that modern South Asia has inherited from this past. Part II focuses on resistance to state power in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka. We explore the root causes of insurgencies in these countries, considering variables such as political and economic grievances, ideology, external sponsorship, rent-seeking, and military occupation. We also consider the role of Islamic extremist militants across the region, and their sponsors. Part III addresses contemporary regional-level security competition and challenges with serious consequences for U.S. national security; including nuclearization and India-China great power competition. South Asia has long hosted some of the most serious challenges to U.S. national security interests. India and Pakistan have been locked in an intractable security competition since 1947 over the disputed disposition of Kashmir. There have been four Indo-Pakistani wars (1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999), a protracted proxy conflict since 1989, and numerous crises that have threatened to develop into full-scale conflicts. Pakistan has hosted Islamist militants that operate in India since 1947 and in Afghanistan since the 1970s. Since the overt nuclearization of the sub-continent in 1998, when India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons, the stakes of their competition have increased, with any war possibly resulting in advertent or inadvertent nuclear use. Attacks in India by Pakistan-based and backed militants remain one of the most likely precipitants of future Indo-Pakistan crises. Preventing such crises and concomitant nuclear escalation remains a prominent US regional priority. U.S. security interests also involve smaller states in the region. The growth of Chinese influence in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh may alter South Asian balances of power and call for new policy approaches. Additionally, the Rohingya refugee crisis, the ongoing flow of Afghan refugees into Pakistan, and millions of internally displaced persons due to violent conflict and natural disasters are among the region’s challenging humanitarian issues with security implications. This course is designed to help students gain a better understanding of the states and societies of the region, and the root causes of violent conflict among them.