Highlighting smaller South Asian countries, this book examines how these countries navigate great-power competition, confront domestic challenges, and demonstrate surprising strengths.
Why are smaller South Asian countries' relations with China deepening? What are the indicators of these ties that observers should be monitoring in the coming decade?
Nilanthi Samaranayake examines an understudied set of actors in an increasingly important region for geopolitics. By conducting in-country research, engaging with innovative International Relations theory, and developing an accessible policy framework, she analyzes these countries through the lens of their smaller size relative to the large powers they navigate. She unpacks the challenges they face including both traditional security dynamics, such as asymmetric power relationships with India and China, and nontraditional security hazards, such as natural disasters. While managing external concerns, the countries tackle national development goals and confront domestic threats which the book further examines. Importantly, this work identifies surprising strengths exhibited by the five countries despite their smaller size.
Chapters focus on Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and use a comparative lens to explore the future of Indo-Pacific security. From this foundational contribution, policymakers, scholars, and students will take away insights into the histories, outlooks, and priorities of this dynamic group of countries.