Politics and Policies in South Asia

This seminar is an advanced introduction to contemporary South Asia, one of the world’s most diverse regions. The course is open to SIPA students interested in the region, even if they do not have any prior background in South Asia. The readings will also cater to those students who know more about the region, but want to deepen their knowledge about predominant social, political, and economic issues in the politics and policymaking of South Asia. In this course we will look into various aspects of interaction of the state, society and market in South Asia with an aim to evaluate (a) how comparative social science illuminates South Asia and (b) how analysis of specific cases in South Asia contributes to general theorizing about politics. The focus of the course is analytical. We will use the South Asian experience to address some of the central questions in politics and policymaking. ​