South Asia: Conflict, Culture Complexity, and Change

South Asia is one of the most dauntingly complex regions of the world.

All of the South Asian states – Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives – are contending with momentous changes, internally, regionally and globally. The region is home to three of the world’s ten most populated countries, two of the world’s nine nuclear weapons states, and the world’s most corrupt country for five of the last eight years.  Political instability, economic instability, poverty, natural disasters, and religious, ethnic and cultural clashes are abundant. It is at once one of the world's most dangerous and most promising of areas.

Afghanistan, in its eighth year of its current war, struggles to unify as one state.  Twelve times the size of Bosnia with 26 million people who are ethnically, tribally and religiously divided, a difficult terrain with poor infrastructure, and warlords reluctant to relinquish power to a national government, Afghanistan may be at a tipping point.  Will local allegiances continue to trump national ones?  Will the resurgence of the Taliban take hold against Kabul’s government?

Pakistan, having held a successful democratic election that ended the most recent military coup, still is politically weak, with many fearing its slide into a failed state.  The civilian government has nominal control over its Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and, to much criticism, allowed the Swat valley to institute Shari’a law.  The military remains very much in play in governance issues and Pakistan’s intelligence agency appears at times to be an independent actor and has been accused of supporting a number of extremist Islamic groups, including the Taliban. Will Pakistan become a failed state? How will it manage the competing centers of power, between the mosque and the judiciary?  How will its nuclear capacity remain secure in the face of instability?

India, the world’s largest democracy, is also the region’s most stable state currently.  Its economy is booming, with a growth rate of about seven percent annually, even in the context of the global economic crisis. Having opened its economy and embraced globalization, India is beginning to assert its power, both regionally and globally. Holding it back, however, are its continuing high rates of poverty, illiteracy, and malnourishment despite this economic growth.  It also continues to face simmering ethnic and religious tensions that sporadically erupt and challenge its internal security capacity. How will India address its increasing wealth gap, given that more than 400 million of its 1.1 billion population survive on a $1 a day?  How will India contend with its growing homegrown terrorism and religious tensions?

Bangladesh, which has less than 40 years of independence, continues to suffer both natural disasters and man-made political crises.  Its government has gone through cycles of coups and democratic elections, with the most recent elections taking place in December 2008 after two years of a military takeover. How will Bangladesh address political instability and corruption?  How will Bangladesh address its high rates of poverty? 

Nepal is undergoing a significant and democratic political transition following a number of years of political turmoil and conflict.  The government is now comprised of reformists and the Maoist rebels who had aged a ten-year struggle to reform the government. Will the elites allow the democratic government to flourish?  Will the rebels be able to transition from the struggle to governing?

Sri Lanka has had a democratic government since independence.  However, while some like the US see it as a stable democracy, others like the United Kingdom and the World Bank have called it a flawed democracy due to the recently ended war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Should the Tamil minority be granted some form of autonomy?

The internal challenges each country faces are often compounded by its relationship with its neighbors.  Kashmir, administered by India with a Muslim majority, has been the source of numerous conflicts between India and Pakistan, which have engaged in three wars since partition in 1948.  The attacks on the Indian embassy in Kabul and in Mumbai are alleged to have been committed by groups originating in and supported by Pakistan, such as Lashkare-Taiba.  Adding to the tensions is the nuclear capacity of both nations, with fears of unclear command and communication structures.  Non-state actors such as al Qaeda and the Taliban also continue to threaten regional stability.

Other issues affecting the region include: How will all of the states contend with the pressures of Western-style modernity that is welcomed and deplored, celebrated and cursed?   Will religious extremism and ethnic chauvinism overwhelm democratic structures?  What do the countries see as their interests and roles in the global struggle against terrorism?  What will be the future US role in the region, as its alliances and partnerships have shifted throughout the decades?

For more information: 617.627.3314
 

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Colloquium Lecturers and Advisers include:

Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow, Belfer Center Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Barnard Schwartz Fellow at the Asia Society

Junaid Ahmad, Sector Manager for Social Development in South Asia, World Bank

Jalal Alamgir, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Jamshed Bharucha, Provost and Senior Vice President, Tufts University

Jack Blum, Counsel, Baker Hostetler; Former Special Counsel, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., Chief of Staff, US Army

Antonia Chayes, Visiting Professor of International Politics and Law, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Noam Chomsky, Professor of Linguistics, MIT

Edward Girardet, President, International Centre for Humanitarian Reporting; Foreign correspondent covering Afghanistan since pre-1979

Andrew Hess, Professor of Diplomacy and Director, The Program for Southwest Asia and Islamic Civilization, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Shafiqul Islam, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University

Ayesha Jalal, Mary Richardson Professor of History and Director of the Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies, Tufts University

Kris Manjapra, Assistant Professor of History, Tufts University

Dyan Mazurana, Director, Gender, Youth and Community, Feinstein International Famine Center, Tufts University

Adil Najam, Director, Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, Boston University

Emran Quereshi, Wertheim Fellow, Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School

Amb. Thomas Simons, Former US Ambassador to Pakistan

Rajini Srikanth, Associate Professor of English, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Rory Stewart, Author, The Places in Between; Founder, Turquoise Mountain Foundation

Ananya Vajpeyi, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Andrew Wilder, Assistant Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University
 

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Texts

Required and recommended over TWO semesters include:

On the Grand Trunk Road: A Journey into South Asia, Steve Coll • The Nuclear Jihadist: The True Story of the Man Who Sold the World’s Most Dangerous Secrets…And How We Could Have Stopped Him, Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins • Invisible History: Afghanistan’s Untold Story, Paul Fitzgerald & Elizabeth Gould • The Argumentative Indian, Amartya Sen • The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India’s Future, Martha C. Nussbaum • Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia, Ayesha Jalal • In the Graveyard of Empires: America’s War in Afghanistan, Seth G. Jones • Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America’s War on Terror • The Idea of Pakistan, Stephen Philip Cohen • The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone, Shashi Tharoor • Building a New Afghanistan, Robert I. Rotber (ed) • Descent into Chaos, Ahmed Rashid
 

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EPIIC Weekend Immersion

Afghanistan: The Limits of Statebuilding and Counterinsurgency
October 2-4, 2009
Pinkham Notch Visitor Center/Joe Dodge Lodge
Appalachian Mountain Club, Gorham, NH
Activities led by Outward Bound Staff

Resource Scholar: Jake Sherman

Mr. Jake Sherman (EPIIC ’96) is the Associate Director for Peacekeeping and Security Sector Reform at the New York University Center on International Cooperation. Prior to joining CIC, Mr. Sherman was a consultant on peacebuilding issues in Cambodia for Oxfam GB, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Alliance for Conflict Transformation. He has worked as the Political Officer for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and for the International Peace Academy, and Physicians for Human Rights in the Balkans. During 2008, Mr. Sherman was seconded to the secretariat of the Independent Panel on Safety and Security of UN Personnel and Premises.   His publications include, Survey of the United States Government’s Arrangements for Monitoring and Evaluating Support to Security Sector Reform, “The Afghan National Development Strategy: The Right Plan at the Wrong Time?”, “Afghanistan: Nationally-Led State-Building”, “Counter-Narcotics to Stabilize Afghanistan: The False Promise of Crop Eradication”, and “Economic Factors in Civil Wars: Policy Considerations”.

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Institute Scholars and Practitioners in Residence (INSPIRE)
 

Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman

Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman was appointed Advisor (cabinet minister) in charges of the Ministries of Commerce and Education to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh in January 2008, which he continued until January 2009. During his tenure, he was entrusted with the lead role in the political negotiations, which saw the successful return of the country to electoral democracy.  An eminent economist and social thinker, Dr. Rahman was a leading researcher at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies at Dhaka between 1977 and 2000.  He initiated and led the internationally renowned Analysis of Poverty Trends Project at the Institute and is the author of Rethinking Rural Poverty.  In 1996, Dr. Rahman founded the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), a Dhaka-based think tank and has been its Executive Chairman since 2000.  At PPRC, Dr. Rahman initiated major new research programs on governance and education and is the author of Unbundling Governance. Between 2002 and 2006, Dr. Rahman was the Lead Consultant for the Government of Bangladesh in preparing its strategy of accelerated poverty reduction.  During this period, Dr. Rahman was also appointed to the SAARC Poverty Commission (ISACPA) and was the lead drafter of Our Future, Our Responsibility: Road-Map for a Poverty-Free South Asia.  Dr. Rahman was the lead editor for finalizing the National Plan of Action (NPA II) on primary education for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education.  He is a resource person to the National Defence College.  Dr. Rahman has been a consultant to many international agencies including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Danida, Sida, Swiss Development Cooperation, DFID.

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Research

EPIIC also provides for unusual opportunities for students to conduct research related to its annual theme, both at home and abroad. Last year, students traveled to China, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Peru, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

Research topics can include:

• the financing of the Taliban
• the regional impact of AQ Khan’s proliferation operation
• the demise of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka
• links between the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to the Taliban
• the controversy over the Dasht-i-Leili massacre in Afghanistan
• the ecological and political consequences of the Bhopal disaster
• the influence of Tagore's thinking on Indian education
• Nagaland sovereignty and India-Bhutan cross-border relations
• the economic impacts of centralized economies and village self-governance movements in South Asia
• the impact of the elites on the future of democracy in Nepal
• Pakistan's potential to be a "failed state"
• climate change and ecological sovereignty in the Maldives
• Indian-Chinese foreign relations
• implications of gender inequalities for the region
• cricket and South Asian politics
• the implications of the demolition of the Bhabri Masjid and religiously motivated violence in Gujarat
• causes and consequences of the assassinations of leaders in the region
• current counterinsurgency strategies in the SWAT Valley
• the Naxalite insurrection
• Bangladesh's water arsenic poisoning
• migration, internal displacement, and refugee flows in South Asia
• the coexistence of the religious and the secular
• the rise of the RSS and its potential impact on the world's largest contemporary democracy
• Nehruvian Unionism's impact on Indian democracy
• the impact of the Mandal Commission on caste relations in India
• democracy and decentralization in Pakistan, specifically looking at the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
• the incorporation of former Maoist insurgents into government in Nepal
• the influence of Bollywood
• the nature and efficacy of U.S. Special Operations Forces activities in Afghanistan
• Bangladesh’s high population density and the impact of annual flooding

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International Students and EPIIC

For the past two years, as part of its commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative, EPIIC has brought a total of 94 students from 14 countries and 19 international universities to participate in its symposium. This year, EPIIC will continue this initiative, reaching out to students in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Singapore, and South Korea among others.

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Inquiry

EPIIC’s high school global issues simulation program will focus this year on security issues in South Asia. All students in EPIIC participate in mentoring high school students and in the culminating simulation held at Tufts, April 8-11, 2010. For those interested in working with high school students or in EPIIC’s topic but unable to commit the required time, there is a full credit, two-semester option to participate in the Inquiry Teaching Group (EXP 91AF).

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The Norris and Margery Bendetson EPIIC International Symposium

February 18-22, 2010

The international symposium is an annual public forum designed and enacted by the EPIIC students. It features scores of international practitioners, academics, public intellectuals, activists and journalists in panel discussions and workshops.

This year’s Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award recipients include:

•    Sarah Chayes
Founder, Arghand Cooperative; Former reporter, National Public Radio and The Christian Science Monitor; Recipient, Foreign Press Club and Sigma Delta Chi awards; Author, The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban
•    Dana Freyer
Co-chair and Founder, Global Partnership for Afghanistan; Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Former Assistant to the Afghanistan Ambassador to the United Nations
•    Sanjoy Hazarika
Former New York Times correspondent; Managing trustee, Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research
•    Ayesha Jalal
MacArthur Fellow and Professor of History, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Author, Self and Sovereignty: The Muslim Individual and the Community of Islam in South Asia since c. 1850; The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan; The State of Martial Rule: The Origins of Pakistan’s Political Economy of Defence, among others.
•    Irene Khan
Secretary General, Amnesty International
•    Rory Stewart
Director, Harvard University Carr Center for Human Rights Policy; Professor of the Practice of Human Rights; Founder, Turquoise Mountain Foundation; Author, The Places in Between
• Shashi Tharoor, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Member of the Indian Parliament; former Undersecretary General for Communications and Publications, United Nations


Advisers and Panelists include:

Reuben Abraham, Professor of Business and Executive Director, Center for Emerging Markets Solutions, Indian School of Business in Hyderabad

LT GEN David Barno, Director, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University; Commanded 20,000 US and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan in 2003

Fred Berger, Chairman, Louis Berger Group; Member, IGL External Advisory Board

Pulok Chatterji, Executive Director for South Asia, World Bank

Elora Chowdhury, Professor of Women’s Studies, U Mass, Boston

Steve Coll, President and CEO, New America Foundation

Keith Fitzgerald, Project Implementation Specialist, Sri Lanka Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank

Farooq Kathwari, Chairman of the Board, Kashmir Study Group; Chairman of Refugees International

Bennett Lowenthal, US State Department Director, Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team, Afghanistan

Ram Manikkalingam, former Adviser to the President of Sri Lanka on the Peace Process; Director of the Dialogue Advisory Group

Lant Pritchett, Professor, Practice of International Development, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

COL John Wood, Central/South Asia Division Chief, US Department of Defense
more information on the 2010 EPIIC SYMPOSIUM here

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Special Projects and Opportunities
 

Security Sector Reform and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan Workshop
Contribute to the development and enactment of this Compton Foundation-sponsored professional workshop on Security Sector Reform and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan, which will gather experts to consider how security and development can further the goals of redressing root causes of conflict; how Afghanistan can (re)establish the social contract between state and society; and other issues.

World Bank “Back to the Barracks” Project
Conduct a literature review of countries from around the world on conflict and local governance as well as on the reestablishment of democracy after the military’s involvement in civilian affairs. Publish and present this comparative analysis and “lessons learned” for World Bank.

Bangladesh Political, Social, and Economic Research
Undertake a research project with mentorship from Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman on poverty, governance, social change, economics, or civil-military relations or intern with the Dhaka-based think-tank, Power and Participation Research Centre.
 
Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research
Conduct independent research in North East India with support from the Centre and guidance from past INSPIRE Fellow Sanjoy Hazarika. Using a strategy of local-level and regional studies, the Centre aims to impact policies and perceptions at all levels to help build a more equitable society.

Media21 Afghanistan Book
Participate in the development of a book on Afghanistan by Media21, a Geneva-based initiative launched in 2006 by a team of international journalists to expand and improve media coverage of key global issues.

PKSOI Research
Conduct research with the US Army War College Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute in Carlisle, Pennsylvania to study civil-military relations, counter-insurgency doctrine, and lessons learned from the field.

EMPOWER
Through the IGL’s Empower program, intern with a variety of organization working in South Asia, including the Acumen Fund; the Arghand Cooperative, Kandahar; the Asian University for Women, the Association for India’s Development, Barefoot College, Global Partnership for Afghanistan, Sangam India, and SKS India.

International Resilience Program
Conduct directed research aimed at field-testing appropriate components of the multi-dimensional “Resilience Index” under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Astier Almedom. Research internships may be available in Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Harvard Kennedy School Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
Benefit from access to the Fellows of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and its project on State Building and Human Rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Music for Life India
Work with George Mathew, Artistic Director and Conductor of Mahler for the Children of AIDS, on a benefit concert to raise funds and public-consciousness for pediatric AIDS and to help develop and document a pilot youth orchestra program that will bring Western Classical music and mentorship to schools in Indian slums.

Oslo Human Rights Fellows
Students will have the opportunity to apply to be Fellows with the Human Rights Foundation and meet and intern with individuals such as those who began the 2007 lawyers protest in Pakistan.

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