THE GEOPOLITICS OF SOUTH ASIA. From early empires to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Chapman, Graham P.

ISBN 10: 0754613518 / ISBN 13: 9780754613510

Published by Ashgate, Aldershot 2000., 2000

About this Item

1st edition. 8vo. xxi + 338pp. Maps and diagrams. A few light pencil annotations. Original navy and grey boards. ISBN 0754613518 US$13.

Seller Inventory # 186603

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE GEOPOLITICS OF SOUTH ASIA. From early empires to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• Publisher: Ashgate, Aldershot 2000.
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0754613518
• ISBN 13: 9780754613510
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Seller catalogs:
  • TRAVEL

About this title

Synopsis

This volume explores one of the world's greatest cultural heartlands - the Indian sub-continent. It shows how geological movements moulded the land and how they still impact upon it; how the culture of early setters evolved to form Hinduism; how its wealth and power attracted the attention of Islamic invaders who founded the Sultanate of Delhi and then the great Mogul Empire; and how they were later usurped by the British Raj. The story continues with the trauma of Partition and Independence in 1947, as India's unique form of Islam shook free from Nehru's secular India with the founding of Pakistan. At different points in the story, discussions are woven in on subjects such as caste or the management of water resources. Much of the book is written in terms of the three major forces of integration.These are "identitive" forces - bonds of language, ethnicity, religion or ideology; "utilitarian" forces - bonds of common material interests; and "coercion" - the institutional use or threat of physical violence. By studying these forces, Professor Chapman shows how the organization of territory - as states and empires, as monarchic realms and as representative democracies - has been central to the region's historic, cultural, linguistic and economic development. In doing so, he contends that the lynchpin of this region's story is a geopolitical one.

Review

'...based on more than a quarter-of-a-century of research there, he provides both a focused examination of South Asian geopolitics and a highly readable introduction to the political geography of a key geopolitical region.' Ron J. Johnston, Bristol University, UK '...offers a sweeping and highly original survey of the history of what are now the republics of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh...What makes this book of particular interest is its consistent and sophisticated concern with the working or absence of the major forces - identitive, utilitarian, and coercive - making for regional integration during various periods of history and at scales of analysis ranging from the local to the global.' Joseph Schwartzberg, University of Minnesota, USA 'Chapman offers a long-term historical view of the civilisation in which the two concerns of geopolitics - space and power - have to be understood...[he] offers to a mixed audience of social scientists and interested laymen a comprehensive and intelligible view of South Asian civilisation. This is a daunting task but Chapman's selection is economical and effective...Chapman pulls off his ambitious project, producing a book which should be useful for geographers, historians and students of politics.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'This is a remarkable book for the simple reason that the complex disciplines of religion, history, geography, politics, economics and international relations have been finely distilled...to provide a lucid account of the life and times of S. Asia.' Contemporary South Asia 'Part three contains an extremely perceptive analysis of the process leading to the independence and separation of India and Pakistan in 1947, and the later separation of Bangladesh...This is an erudite and very readable account of the historical and recent geopolitics of South Asia...' Geography 'The whole story is skilfully told, interweaving discussions of society, culture...in different places in the subcontinent at different times...To sum up , the focus is geopolitical, but time and scholarship mean that this is a geopolitics which is richly informed by religion, culture, language, technological change, physical geography and history.' Area '...this book is to be welcomed for its enthusiasm in encouraging students to grapple with the complexity of one of the world's most neglected geopolitical regions.' Asian Affairs 'Chapman writes with clarity and feeling, and his account of the geopolitics of South Asia over the last couple of millennia is eminently readable as well as informative.' The Geographical Journal '...conveys Chapman's passion for South Asia...' Progress in Human Geography 'Chapman's book is a learned and enthusiastic review of the geopolitics of South Asia "from early empires to the nuclear age"...Chapman has written a tale of South Asia that treats the complex societies and the affective links that they generate in a nuanced and sensitive manner.' Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 'The Geopolitics of South Asia is a thoroughly readable account of the geography and history of this region, attaining an impressive balance between a variety of disciplinary approaches...this book unquestionably succeeds in condensing an extensive and extremely complex geopolitical history into an accessible and informative text that admirably avoids the dry, laborious style of many comparable academic textbooks. Without question, the book will provide useful introductory reading for students of Area Studies, whether at under- or post-graduate levels.' South Asia Research '...Chapman's book is a welcome and valuable presence. It reminds us of the power of regional studies in connecting human (social, cultural, political) and physical (topographical, climactic) processes, while providing a genuinely impressive introduction to South Asia's shifting political geographies. It may be the product of nearly forty years of work in South Asia but its contemporary relevance remains clear.' Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society