Recent debates in contemporary feminist theory have been dominated by the relation between identity and politics. Beyond Identity Politics examines the implications of recent theorizing on difference, identity and subjectivity for theories of patriarchy and feminist politics. Organised around the three central themes of subjectivity, power and politics, this book focuses on a question which fem…
Gordon Means traces the evolution of Islamic politics in Southeast Asia, ranging from the early arrival of Islam in the region to the challenges it generates, and faces, today. Means's analysis encompasses the events and actions shaping Islamic politics, as well as the impact of Islamic politics on government and public policy outcomes.
In this brilliant look at the rise of political Islam, the distinguished political scientist and anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani brings his expertise and insight to bear on a question many Americans have been asking since 9/11: how did this happen? Mamdani dispels the idea of “good” (secular, westernized) and “bad” (premodern, fanatical) Muslims, pointing out that these judgments refer t…
"The focus of the book is on Pakistan's political history. With a chapter on the establishment of Pakistan as a backgrounder, the book thoroughly examines constitution-making and the characteristic features of various constitutions and why and how these did not work effectively. It analyses the working of the military governments of Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and Ziaul Haq as well as the working of…
This book seeks to help explain why a country which after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, had the chance to create a concert of all the world's major states- including Muslim ones- against Islamist revolutionary terrorism chose in. stead to pursue policies which divided the West, further alienated the Muslim world and exposed America itself to greatly increased danger. The most imp…
The volume attempts to explain the prevailing civil-military equations in India and Pakistan by examining the plethora of historical, politic and military factors that have shaped the present-day political environment. As leaders in New Delhi and Islamabad appear more determined than ever before, to embark upon nuclear weaponization, there is now a much greater urgency to understand the politic…
Misgovernance is the fundamental problem of South Asia. Time and time again the people of this region have seen a new dawn break only to be disappointed long before breakfast. Independence itself, the overthrow of military dictators like Ayub Khan, Zia-ul-Haq, and General Ershad, the end of Indira Gandhi's Emergency, the curtailing of monarchical power in Nepal, how many more times will democra…
"How grand and glorious our past was! How dim and dismal our present is! If we did not mend in time, how bleak our future will be!" - is the timely warning given to us by Maithlisharan Gupt in the afore-mentioned couplet. Where there is a will, there is a way. By the dint of will-power, robust optimism and dauntless determination, we can, not only transform the dismal present into gay and galla…
Nationalism and globalization are two major contradicting forces in the world today. The roles that these two forces play and the impact of globalization on countries differ. Both Western and Asian "nation- states" have faced the challenge of globalization in recent decades, and the challenge has become more intense since the 1990s. The decline of communism and socialism as ideologies, and the …
India has been a democratic polity for more than four decades since its independence. During this period Indian society has changed unrecognisably in almost every walk of life. It will be appropriate to stand back and look at these changes in Indian society and polity objectively and without bias in order to face the new challenges and opportunities as a part of a reappraisal of India's social …