South Asia

This Week in South Asia: April 19 – 25

Commentary from the South Asia Center on the most relevant news from the region, and suggested “must-read” analyses from the week. India The sixth phase of elections in India consolidated an increasingly apparent trend in the prior five phases which illustrated a distinct improvement in voter turnout as compared to the 2009 Lok-Sabha elections. Only […]

Atlantic Council Report Calls for India and Pakistan to Reinvest in Economic Relations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 24, 2014 A report released today by the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center argues that heavy military spending in India and Pakistan has in fact been detrimental to the citizens of both countries in terms of security and economic growth, and calls on leaders to reinvest in trade and confidence building. In […]

Things are Finally Looking up for Afghanistan. Here’s How to Keep it that Way

By Riaz Mohammad Khan

The April 5 election in Afghanistan to choose Hamid Karzai’s successor saw a voter turnout of about 58 percent or some 7 million people. While the vote represents an important transition, there’s another key change that occurs in Afghanistan later this year: the drawdown of foreign forces. Afghanistan is an uncertain picture, but it offers […]

Stephan on an International Strategy to Support Good Governance

By Maria J. Stephan

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Maria Stephan co-writes for the New York Times on the need for international support for civil societies and good governance: 

This Week in South Asia: April 5 – 11

Commentary from the South Asia Center on the most relevant news from the region, and suggested “must-read” analyses from the week. AfghanistanA large segment of the Afghan populace turned out to elect the country’s next President as 7 of the 12 million voters exercised their franchise this week. Unexpectedly, the overall turnout reported was close […]

No Canvassing Sir: At the Polls in India

By Mohan Guruswamy

I just returned having performed my democratic duty with my left index finger indelibly stained as proof of it. My polling booth was at the elite Shriram School and the people gathered in it looked like on their way to a Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meeting. Most of them, men, boys and girls, were wearing […]