This book deals with the history of Muslim political thought from the time of the Prophet to early 21" century in `West Asia` (an Indian alternative to the `colonial` term Middle East) and South Asia. Although Islam does not present nor recommend any political philosophy or state-like system per se, Muslim scholars and theologians have over the centuries recommended ways for establishing an ideal Islamic polity based on Quranic inferences, precedents of the Prophet and some early Caliphs. Although Political Islam strictly refers to only a century-old religious-political revivalist movement, this book covers historical concepts and developments that serve as political antecedents for contemporary Political Islam in the two regions.
Pushpita Das replies: A frontier, etymologically, suggests what lies ahead or “in front” of an inhabitation. So, a frontier is an area that is ahead of a hinterland. It is an area towards which an ecumene (inhabited land) can expand. Generally, frontiers are not recognised as a legal or political concept.
Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: The term 'neoliberalism' has an economic refrain. It advocates a free market, laissez-faire economy. In international relations, neoliberal institutionalism has a slightly modified tenor that lays emphasis on economic interdependence which has been a marked feature of international politics in the post-Cold War period. Such interdependence leads to inter-connectedness and linkage that ensures peace and reduces the probability of conflict between states.
Regionalism in South Asia continues to evoke intense academic interest among scholars. SAARC, an organization that was conceptualized in the early eighties, evinced both hope and despair. A hope to overcome the factitious past and move onto the path of prosperity, and the despair that was embodied in its inability to achieve its potential. The fight against poverty and the path to prosperity has mostly been an individualistic journey among countries.
Ashok K. Behuria replies: Most states in South Asia are multi-ethnic/cultural ones. The peculiar history of the region ensured large scale migration across different subregions of South Asia over time, resulting in ethnic, cultural and linguistic overlaps by default when the modern states were constituted as a byproduct of both colonial politics and anti-colonial struggles in the mid-twentieth century.
South Asia has a common history and celebrates its great cultural and linguistic overlap. However, the South Asian experience in building cooperative security architecture has been mixed. India on its part remains committed to strengthening cooperative security in the region.
Re-Energising Science Diplomacy in South Asia
Science diplomacy can be used effectively to address critical challenges facing the South Asian region.