Government and Politics of South Asia

Catalog description

This course offers an overview of the politics of modern South Asia with specific focus on Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. ASIA (PL SC) 469 Government and Politics of South Asia (3) (IL) This course provides an overview of the politics of modern South Asia with particular attention to the experiences of Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. It examines theories of political and economic development and ethnic politics, the impact of the British colonial experience on South Asia, the rise of nationalism, and the emergence of independent nation states in the region. Three important themes are explored throughout the course: (1) the state of economic development in the three countries; (2) the relationship between identity politics and violence; and (3 ) the international relations of these countries, with particular attention to terrorism and nuclear policy. Course topics will be explored through readings from textbooks and assigned articles, articles from current news sources and, documentary films from the three countries. By the end of the course, students will have knowledge of the politics of Afghanistan, India and Pakistan and the political factors that have shaped their development over the past century. Students will acquire the tools necessary to evaluate critically the impact of war, the legacy of colonialism, and the challenge in building durable democratic institutions. This course fulfills the distribution requirement for comparative politics, as well as the advanced and related course requirements for Political Science majors. The course also fulfills the supporting course requirement for International Politics majors and the related areas requirement for Asian Studies majors.