Over the years, Nigeria’s regional hegemonic leadership in (West) Africa, especially within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, has been debated within academic and foreign relations circles. A major component of this regional leadership aspiration was its quest for a ‘borderless Africa’. As an important arrowhead of its pro-African foreign policy, the Nigerian government proactively crafted a benign national border policy to give practical expression to the free mobility of persons and goods within the West African subregion. Despite a demonstrable commitment to free mobility within Africa over the years, Abuja suddenly imposed a restrictive border policy shortly after it signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and approved the contentious visa-on-arrival for African migrants. Considering this context, this study makes three arguments: First, it interrogates the rationale behind the liberal border diplomacy of the Nigerian government. Secondly, the paper contends that the inability to ‘silence the guns’ in Africa despite all efforts has seriously militated against the aspiration for intra-African mobility and borderless Community in West Africa. Lastly, the study examines the dire implications of Nigerian nationalistic border diplomacy and its declining soft power for the future of ‘borderless West Africa’.
{"title":"Visa-on-arrival, ECOWAS-free Mobility and the Securitisation of the Intra-African Migration in Nigeria","authors":"Sunday Omotuyi, David Olubunmi Apeloko, Moruf Ayodele Bello, Celestina Ekene Chukwudi","doi":"10.1177/09749284241264068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241264068","url":null,"abstract":"Over the years, Nigeria’s regional hegemonic leadership in (West) Africa, especially within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, has been debated within academic and foreign relations circles. A major component of this regional leadership aspiration was its quest for a ‘borderless Africa’. As an important arrowhead of its pro-African foreign policy, the Nigerian government proactively crafted a benign national border policy to give practical expression to the free mobility of persons and goods within the West African subregion. Despite a demonstrable commitment to free mobility within Africa over the years, Abuja suddenly imposed a restrictive border policy shortly after it signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and approved the contentious visa-on-arrival for African migrants. Considering this context, this study makes three arguments: First, it interrogates the rationale behind the liberal border diplomacy of the Nigerian government. Secondly, the paper contends that the inability to ‘silence the guns’ in Africa despite all efforts has seriously militated against the aspiration for intra-African mobility and borderless Community in West Africa. Lastly, the study examines the dire implications of Nigerian nationalistic border diplomacy and its declining soft power for the future of ‘borderless West Africa’.","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142175891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-16DOI: 10.1177/09749284241263932
Himadri Bose
Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar, The Coming Wave: AI, Power and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma (London: Bodley Head, 2023), 352 pp. £25.00, ISBN: 978-18-4792-748-4 (Paperback).
Mustafa Suleyman 和 Michael Bhaskar，《即将到来的浪潮》：AI, Power and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma (London: Bodley Head, 2023), 352 pp.25.00 英镑，ISBN：978-18-4792-748-4（平装本）。
{"title":"Book review: Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar, The Coming Wave: AI, Power and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma","authors":"Himadri Bose","doi":"10.1177/09749284241263932","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241263932","url":null,"abstract":"Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar, The Coming Wave: AI, Power and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma (London: Bodley Head, 2023), 352 pp. £25.00, ISBN: 978-18-4792-748-4 (Paperback).","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142175892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-01DOI: 10.1177/09749284241263935
Joyati Bhattacharya
The early 1990s witnessed a strategic shift in India’s foreign policy with the introduction of the Look (Act) East Policy. The policy was conceptualised originally to meet the challenges of the post-Cold War world politics. The idea that Northeast India can develop in the process of the implementation of the policy and can be a gateway to South East Asia was realised rather late in the early part of the twenty-first century. Since then, the expectations around the Look (Act) East Policy have been remarkable. The change in nomenclature as ‘Act East’ in 2014 has further strengthened the hope about the potential impact of the policy in Northeast India. However, without addressing the issues of concern within Northeast India and cultivating sufficient local resources, it remains impossible for the states in the Northeast to abruptly hope for redemption across the mountains from Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to comprehend the implications of the policy for Northeast India, evaluates the prospect of participation of the North-Eastern states and examines the perspective of the locals on the basis of primary data collected for the study.
{"title":"Navigating East: Exploring Northeast India’s Perspective on the Look (Act) East Policy","authors":"Joyati Bhattacharya","doi":"10.1177/09749284241263935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241263935","url":null,"abstract":"The early 1990s witnessed a strategic shift in India’s foreign policy with the introduction of the Look (Act) East Policy. The policy was conceptualised originally to meet the challenges of the post-Cold War world politics. The idea that Northeast India can develop in the process of the implementation of the policy and can be a gateway to South East Asia was realised rather late in the early part of the twenty-first century. Since then, the expectations around the Look (Act) East Policy have been remarkable. The change in nomenclature as ‘Act East’ in 2014 has further strengthened the hope about the potential impact of the policy in Northeast India. However, without addressing the issues of concern within Northeast India and cultivating sufficient local resources, it remains impossible for the states in the Northeast to abruptly hope for redemption across the mountains from Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to comprehend the implications of the policy for Northeast India, evaluates the prospect of participation of the North-Eastern states and examines the perspective of the locals on the basis of primary data collected for the study.","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141882417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-01DOI: 10.1177/09749284241264037
Rajdeep Sarkar
Myanmar’s political turbulence has provided suitable conditions for the growth of bustling drug production complexes—From opiates to amphetamines, the connection between drugs, conflict and power is a key regional dynamic with implications for its neighbours and beyond. This article discusses some security and socio-economic implications for India due to the explosion of amphetamine trade originating in the Golden Triangle region. Though the North-east has been extensively identified as the main corridor for the passage of Myanmar-origin drugs, this article explores an alternative view by focusing on West Bengal as a particularly vulnerable area as both a destination and transit area for amphetamines. I argue that in the densely populated border areas in West Bengal, amphetamines are being integrated into existing cross-border smuggling routes used for cattle, gold, minerals and illicit pharmaceutical drugs, with regional and national implications.
{"title":"Golden Triangle Amphetamines in India: The Indo-Bangladesh Border as an Alternative to the North-East Corridor","authors":"Rajdeep Sarkar","doi":"10.1177/09749284241264037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241264037","url":null,"abstract":"Myanmar’s political turbulence has provided suitable conditions for the growth of bustling drug production complexes—From opiates to amphetamines, the connection between drugs, conflict and power is a key regional dynamic with implications for its neighbours and beyond. This article discusses some security and socio-economic implications for India due to the explosion of amphetamine trade originating in the Golden Triangle region. Though the North-east has been extensively identified as the main corridor for the passage of Myanmar-origin drugs, this article explores an alternative view by focusing on West Bengal as a particularly vulnerable area as both a destination and transit area for amphetamines. I argue that in the densely populated border areas in West Bengal, amphetamines are being integrated into existing cross-border smuggling routes used for cattle, gold, minerals and illicit pharmaceutical drugs, with regional and national implications.","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"79 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141882420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-25DOI: 10.1177/09749284241263927
Waseem Ahmad Bhat, Shazia Majid
Suranjan Das and Anita Sengupta (Eds.), Contiguity, Connectivity and Access: The Importance of the Bay of Bengal Region in Indian Foreign Policy (Routledge, 2022), 214 pp. $54.99, ISBN: 978-10-0336-502-0 (ebk).
Suranjan Das 和 Anita Sengupta（编辑），《毗连性、连通性和准入：The Importance of the Bay of Bengal Region in Indian Foreign Policy (Routledge, 2022), 214 pp.54.99美元，ISBN：978-10-0336-502-0（电子书）。
{"title":"Book review: Suranjan Das and Anita Sengupta (Eds.), Contiguity, Connectivity and Access: The Importance of the Bay of Bengal Region in Indian Foreign Policy","authors":"Waseem Ahmad Bhat, Shazia Majid","doi":"10.1177/09749284241263927","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241263927","url":null,"abstract":"Suranjan Das and Anita Sengupta (Eds.), Contiguity, Connectivity and Access: The Importance of the Bay of Bengal Region in Indian Foreign Policy (Routledge, 2022), 214 pp. $54.99, ISBN: 978-10-0336-502-0 (ebk).","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141784745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-26DOI: 10.1177/09749284241244848
Sujata Ashwarya
Talmiz Ahmad, West Asia at War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games (Gurugram: HarperCollins Publishers, 2022), 544 pp. ₹799, ISBN: 978-9354-8952-58 (Hardback).K. P. Fabian, Arab Spring That Was and Wasn’t (Noida: Macmillan Education, 2022), 250 pp. ₹785, ISBN: 978-9356-6601-44 (Hardback).
Talmiz Ahmad, West Asia at War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games (Gurugram: HarperCollins Publishers, 2022), 544 pp.₹799, ISBN: 978-9354-8952-58 (Hardback).K. P. Fabian, Arab Spring That Was and Wasn't (Noida: Macmillan Education, 2022), 250 pp.₹785, ISBN: 978-9356-6601-44 (Hardback).
{"title":"Echoes of Spring: Analysing West Asia’s Transformative Moments","authors":"Sujata Ashwarya","doi":"10.1177/09749284241244848","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241244848","url":null,"abstract":"Talmiz Ahmad, West Asia at War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games (Gurugram: HarperCollins Publishers, 2022), 544 pp. ₹799, ISBN: 978-9354-8952-58 (Hardback).K. P. Fabian, Arab Spring That Was and Wasn’t (Noida: Macmillan Education, 2022), 250 pp. ₹785, ISBN: 978-9356-6601-44 (Hardback).","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140801934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-12DOI: 10.1177/09749284241241596
Alok Kumar Gupta, Kaushiki Parihar
Global warming and consequent climate change have emerged as serious issues and have started featuring on almost all multilateral forums with statements warning the global leadership to get increasingly proactive about addressing the issues. In world politics, countries are viewing climate change as an issue to gain influence in international politics. India is no exception to this rule and has been shaping its role as a rule-shaper and policy advocate and is an active participant in climate change negotiations. This article traces India’s role since the talks on climate change began as part of wider environmental concerns. It also enumerates the way global leadership viewed and addressed this pressing issue from time to time. The article provides a brief but critical account of India’s policy interventions at global and national levels to appraise India’s growing role and relevance.
{"title":"Global Climate Change Politics: Critical Appraisal of India’s Changing Role","authors":"Alok Kumar Gupta, Kaushiki Parihar","doi":"10.1177/09749284241241596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241241596","url":null,"abstract":"Global warming and consequent climate change have emerged as serious issues and have started featuring on almost all multilateral forums with statements warning the global leadership to get increasingly proactive about addressing the issues. In world politics, countries are viewing climate change as an issue to gain influence in international politics. India is no exception to this rule and has been shaping its role as a rule-shaper and policy advocate and is an active participant in climate change negotiations. This article traces India’s role since the talks on climate change began as part of wider environmental concerns. It also enumerates the way global leadership viewed and addressed this pressing issue from time to time. The article provides a brief but critical account of India’s policy interventions at global and national levels to appraise India’s growing role and relevance.","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140578928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-12DOI: 10.1177/09749284241241595
Sweta Tiwari
This article examines the potential impact of India’s Act East Policy on the food systems of the Konyak Nagas, an indigenous community in Nagaland. The article studies how the traditional knowledge of the Konyak Nagas about the land, labour and ecology has influenced their food culture. The communal landholdings, shifting cultivation, natural preservation of food items, manual labour in agricultural lands and chemical-free fertilisation process have so far kept the Konyaks self-sufficient in terms of requirement of food, and kept the market forces at bay. Emphasising the significance of food security in the changing global scenario in the post-pandemic period and considering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the article explores how Act East Policy’s capitalistic rationalisation of resources may significantly affect their sustainable means of subsistence and appropriate their farms and platters, which are an integral element of the cultural fabric of the community.
{"title":"Implications of India’s Act East Policy on the Food Systems and Cultural Heritage of the Konyak Nagas: A Case Study of Sustainable Subsistence and Capitalistic Rationalisation","authors":"Sweta Tiwari","doi":"10.1177/09749284241241595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241241595","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the potential impact of India’s Act East Policy on the food systems of the Konyak Nagas, an indigenous community in Nagaland. The article studies how the traditional knowledge of the Konyak Nagas about the land, labour and ecology has influenced their food culture. The communal landholdings, shifting cultivation, natural preservation of food items, manual labour in agricultural lands and chemical-free fertilisation process have so far kept the Konyaks self-sufficient in terms of requirement of food, and kept the market forces at bay. Emphasising the significance of food security in the changing global scenario in the post-pandemic period and considering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the article explores how Act East Policy’s capitalistic rationalisation of resources may significantly affect their sustainable means of subsistence and appropriate their farms and platters, which are an integral element of the cultural fabric of the community.","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140578847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-11DOI: 10.1177/09749284241241597
Bhaskar Gogoi, Jayanta Krishna Sarmah
Climate change and environmental degradation are the two most pressing concerns faced by the world today for which regional cooperation is necessary. For regional cooperation, governments at the regional level must work together to coordinate activities, unify regulations and create risk-reduction plans. In South-east Asia, multiple initiatives have been taken for a shared framework for carrying out coordinated policy implementation. However, political and technical barriers have stymied efforts to suit the needs and benefits of partnering states. This article will analyse these problems and approaches in a few chosen South-east Asian nations and examine comprehensive action plans built on cooperative partnerships. It will offer a critical assessment of the environmental and climate-related issues South-east Asia faces and also offer recommendations on how to use policy tools to regulate and solve issues of regional environmental governance. It also looks at ways to counteract institutional and regulatory obstacles to reaching desired outcomes emphasising regulatory frameworks and policy.
{"title":"Climate Change and Regional Cooperation in South-east Asian Countries","authors":"Bhaskar Gogoi, Jayanta Krishna Sarmah","doi":"10.1177/09749284241241597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241241597","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change and environmental degradation are the two most pressing concerns faced by the world today for which regional cooperation is necessary. For regional cooperation, governments at the regional level must work together to coordinate activities, unify regulations and create risk-reduction plans. In South-east Asia, multiple initiatives have been taken for a shared framework for carrying out coordinated policy implementation. However, political and technical barriers have stymied efforts to suit the needs and benefits of partnering states. This article will analyse these problems and approaches in a few chosen South-east Asian nations and examine comprehensive action plans built on cooperative partnerships. It will offer a critical assessment of the environmental and climate-related issues South-east Asia faces and also offer recommendations on how to use policy tools to regulate and solve issues of regional environmental governance. It also looks at ways to counteract institutional and regulatory obstacles to reaching desired outcomes emphasising regulatory frameworks and policy.","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140578917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-11DOI: 10.1177/09749284241241610
Virendra Gupta
Nivedita Ray and Sankalp Gurjar (Eds.), India and Africa Looking Ahead: Contemporary Realities and Emerging Prospects (Macmillan, 2023), 200 pp., ₹1430 (Hardcover), ISBN-10: 9356660255.
Nivedita Ray 和 Sankalp Gurjar（编著），《印度与非洲展望》：当代现实与新兴前景》（麦克米伦，2023 年），200 页，₹1430（精装），ISBN-10：9356660255。
{"title":"Book review: Nivedita Ray and Sankalp Gurjar (Eds.), India and Africa Looking Ahead: Contemporary Realities and Emerging Prospects","authors":"Virendra Gupta","doi":"10.1177/09749284241241610","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284241241610","url":null,"abstract":"Nivedita Ray and Sankalp Gurjar (Eds.), India and Africa Looking Ahead: Contemporary Realities and Emerging Prospects (Macmillan, 2023), 200 pp., ₹1430 (Hardcover), ISBN-10: 9356660255.","PeriodicalId":81509,"journal":{"name":"India quarterly","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140578921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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