Paying tribute to a noted scholar by digging deep into the issues he explored.Long-time Brookings senior fellow Stephen Philip Cohen was the first American scholar to work in the field of South Asian security studies. He largely defined the field, trained many of is leading analysts, and was himself its most experienced and insightful scholar-practitioner until his death in 2019. This book of essays by several of his students who have made an impact on the field, along contributions from academics who knew Cohen well as well as former students in policy fields, is an intellectual homage to Cohen. It is also an impressive overview of a number of the vital questions facing the nations of that region as well as their neighbors both near and far. Major enduring issues in regional security include India-Pakistan relations, India-China relations, conventional forces-and perhaps the most sensitive issue of all, nuclear weapons. But other important issues remain underexplored, especially outside the region, and are addressed in this book. They include Pakistan's political culture, the politics of the insurgency in Baluchistan, political legitimacy and governance in India and China, and internal security threats facing Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. Governments and societies in the region have grappled with these issues for decades, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. To varying degrees, the issues have important implications for U.S. foreign policy in and beyond South Asia. Anyone interested in the security of South Asia will be rewarded with new insights from academics and analysts who address a wide range of subjects Stephen Philip Cohen covered during his long and distinguished career.
Sumit Ganguly is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science and holds the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dinshaw Mistry is Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies at the University of Cincinnati.
"In this valuable collection of essays, a group of leading scholars, all of whom were students or colleagues of the late Professor Stephen Cohen, analyze some of the central security challenges facing South Asia. They address long-standing issues such as conventional and nuclear forces, and Sino-Indian and India- Pakistan relations, as well as problems related to political culture, democracy, and internal security, which have previously been underexplored. The volume is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Professor Cohen and his pioneering work in the field of South Asian security studies." --S. Paul Kapur, Professor, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School "Blending academic insight with policy relevance, these essays explore a host of critical governance and security challenges facing contemporary South Asia that have clear implications for U.S. foreign policy. The volume is a fitting tribute by former colleagues and students of Professor Stephen Cohen, who both pioneered the field of South Asian security studies in the United States and counseled successive American administrations on their engagement with the region." --Walter Ladwig III, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, King's College, London "Ganguly and Mistry's Festschrift to Stephen P. Cohen bears the hallmarks of the characteristic sympathy and penetrating analysis that distinguished his own work during his lifetime. The essays in this volume illuminate the diverse security predicaments that bedevil the various South Asian states in ways that are deeply insightful for both scholars and policy practitioners alike--a perfect reflection of Cohen's own oeuvre and his enduring intellectual legacy to South Asian security studies." --Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
