SOUTH ASIA

You Know the Glory, Not the Story

25 Journeys Towards Ikigai

by Rahul Singh (Deutsche Bank, Singapore) & Naresh Agarwal (Simmons University, USA) “In today’s testing times, resilience is a key skillset to negotiate tough times. Rahul and Naresh have crafted a masterpiece on how wisdom is beyond boundaries, and we may embrace anything of value from anywhere if it makes a difference. In these post-pandemic times, these stories and the lessons to be learnt will be a game changer for the global audience. These stories reveal how the Universe is a University, a place to learn, imbibe, and transform ourselves and others in times of crisis.”

Gauranga Das Monk and Director, Govardhan Eco Village, Maharashtra

The Japanese word, Ikigai means ‘reason for being’. The book unveils the life journeys of 25 teens that left India for the uncharted waters of Singapore in the 1990s and early 2000s. Readership: Anyone who is interested in knowing and applying Ikigai in their lives.

428pp 978-981-123-043-1 Oct 2021 US$46 £40

The Elusive Tipping Point

China – India Ties for a New Order

by P S Suryanarayana (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) “With updated sources, keen insight, and cutting analysis, Mr Suryanarayana once again adroitly illustrates how elusive a positive tipping point in China-India relations can be and how the dynamic bilateral ties intertwine with their relations with Pakistan and other global powers. A timely book on important but understudied bilateral relations.”

Qingmin Zhang Professor and Chair, Department of Diplomacy, School of International Studies, Peking University, China and

Author of Contemporary China’s Diplomacy and China’s Diplomacy in 40 years since Reform and Opening up Readership: Scholars and students of international relations; international diplomats; Chinese, Indian, Pakistani diplomats and officials; general public.

276pp 978-981-122-581-9 Mar 2021 US$88 £75

Maritime Sri Lanka

Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

edited by Chulanee Attanayake (National University of Singapore, Singapore) Situated right at the center of the world’s busiest sea lanes of communication, the geography connects Sri Lanka with the Indian Ocean, and its destiny is linked to this strategic body of water. For centuries, the Indian Ocean has been part of Sri Lanka’s strategic, security, and political narratives. Amidst this backdrop, this book explores historical and contemporary perspectives on Sri Lanka’s relations with the Indian Ocean.

Readership: Undergraduate and graduate students and scholars specialising in South Asian studies, international relations, or geopolitics, specifically in the South Asian region. Professionals who are interested in the foreign relations of Sri Lanka. General public who is interested in South Asia, or specifically Sri Lanka, and its geopolitical relations.

372pp 978-981-122-203-0

Conundrum of an Island

Sri Lanka’s Geopolitical Challenges

by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera (Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL), Sri Lanka)

“Conundrum of an Island offers readers a rare and comprehensive perspective on how Sri Lanka is observing, debating and addressing a moment of transition and turbulence in the regional order. It offers insider views on how the island’s political and socio-economic changes are disrupting traditional institutions and foreign policy and vice-versa, how an increasingly competitive geoeconomic order is influencing Sri Lanka’s developmental decisions and its balancing act between India, China, the United States and other powers. Ground-level insights and informed analysis from an increasingly central country in the Indo-Pacific.”

Dr Constantino Xavier Fellow, Foreign Policy and Security Centre for Social and Economic Progress, New Delhi, India

Readership: Undergraduate and graduate students, scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of international relations, geopolitics, political science and international security and South Asia Studies; general readers with an interest in Sri Lanka and the Chinese influence on the Island.

248pp Feb 2021 978-981-122-933-6(pbk) US$48 £40 978-981-122-784-4 US$98 £85

Sri Lanka at Crossroads

Geopolitical Challenges and National Interests

by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera (Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL), Sri Lanka)

“This is one of the best books to understand the dilemma Sri Lanka is facing. Currently, the ‘Japan – US – India – Australia versus China’ confrontation has been intensifying. In such a situation, what should Sri Lanka do? The importance of Sri Lanka is rising and geographically speaking, the country has an advantage. Thus, Sri Lanka needs a strategy for surviving as a rising independent country, by using this geographical advantage. In this book, Asanga Abeyagoonasekera explains the right course with his in-depth knowledge of the country, allowing us to learn about the new, bright future of Sri Lanka.”

Dr Satoru Nagao Visiting Fellow at Hudson Institute and expert on Japan – US – India security cooperation

Written from the perspective of a Sri Lankan academic and the head of the national security think tank, this book offers insights into how the country has addressed its post-conflict as well as geopolitical challenges, navigated through domestic politics, and ramped up peace-building efforts, to now reach a junction where it can put its foot firmly on the road to prosperity in a new Asian world order.

Readership: Readers interested in international relations, South Asia, Sri Lanka, national development and geopolitics.

224pp Mar 2019 978-981-120-142-4(pbk) US$48 £40 978-981-3276-72-7 US$98 £85

Critical Explorations

edited by Chanwahn Kim & Rajiv Kumar (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Korea) India is undergoing a great transition, as the post-reform generation strikes out into the world. As a consequence, the country is also witnessing rapid changes not only on the sociopolitical and economic fronts but also on the humanities front. This book seeks to explore great transition in India through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Readership: Undergraduate and graduate students specialising in South Asian studies, with a specific focus on India. Academics with a research interest in India and South Asia, and Indian history, culture, economy, and politics. Policymakers seeking an in-depth understanding of India.

228pp 978-981-122-233-7 Aug 2020 US$88 £75

Voices on South Asia

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Women’s Status, Challenges and Futures

edited by Emma J Flatt (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA) & Vani Swarupa Murali & Silvia Tieri (National University of Singapore, Singapore) This book investigates the contemporary social, political and economic issues faced by women in South Asia. It focuses on the policies and practices that have challenged or perpetuated gender inequalities, and the evolving role of women in South Asian societies. With contributions from practitioners, policy makers, academics and civil society activists from across South Asia, this volume provides a broad and diverse range of viewpoints on South Asian women’s labour force participation, political participation, education, and health, as well as country-specific insights. Readership: Undergraduate students and lecturers of South Asian studies, development, and policy studies, as well as industry practitioners and policymakers.

492pp 978-981-121-325-0 Aug 2020 US$148 £130

Reimagining India – Thailand Relations

A Multilateral and Bilateral Perspective

by Reena Marwah (Delhi University, India) “As India, Thailand and ASEAN are moving through future changes and challenges, this volume provides an in-depth and timely analysis and background, from historical, cultural, people-to-people contacts, down to present-day context of their geo-economic and geo-political relationships. By contextualizing truly and interestingly their multilateral and bilateral ties, this innovative, brilliant, and unparalleled 9-chapter work widens a whole, useful, and yet practical, perspective on the IndiaThailand and ASEAN relations and should prove to be an invaluable resource and reference to everyone; policymakers, researchers and students, all included, of the region and beyond, for years to come.”

Suthipand Chirathivat Professor Emeritus of Economics and the Executive Director at the ASEAN Studies Center Chulalongkorn University in Thailand

Readership: Students and researchers in political science , economics, and international relations, as well as history and religion. Business and industries seeking to trade / invest in Thailand, and Embassies, High commissions, universities based in China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and India. Ideological and Policy Contestations in Contemporary Urban India

by Binti Singh (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India) & Mahendra Sethi (National Institute of Urban Affairs, India)

Empirically grounded to the contemporary urban situation in India, this book highlights how the urban pathway of contemporary India departs from the goal of inclusion in multiple ways and simultaneously interrogates both policy and theory. The book argues for greater urban inclusion (social, economic and environmental) acknowledged in principle, in national and international urban policy frameworks.

Readership: Researchers and students specializing in urban sociology, urban geography, urban planning, policy and governance or those investigating the urban situation in the South Asia and anyone who is interested in deeper understanding of the contemporary city from socioeconomic equity and inclusion perspective.

280pp 978-981-3226-97-5 Aug 2018 US$98 £85

Maritime Governance and South Asia

Trade, Security and Sustainable Development in the Indian Ocean

edited by Jivanta Schöttli (Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS, Singapore)

“The editor has grouped the 15 substantive chapters into one of four themes: order, leadership, institutions, and prospects and perspectives. She succinctly expresses the unifying challenge within the region as one of managing rapid growth but also confronting its vulnerability. There is much of value in this volume ...”

Journal of the Indian Ocean Region

This edited volume brings together multiple perspectives on contemporary maritime governance in South Asia, from practitioners, policy-makers and academics around the world. They examine India’s role as South Asia’s leading naval and economic power and the capacity of key actors to shape maritime order in the Indian Ocean.

Readership: Undergraduate students of maritime studies, international relations and South Asian politics, and general readers interested in the South Asian region.

272pp 978-981-3238-22-0 May 2018 US$108 £95

Ganga Rejuvenation

Governance Challenges and Policy Options

edited by Ora-orn Poocharoen (Chiang Mai University, Thailand), Robert James Wasson (National University of Singapore, Singapore) & Xun Wu (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong)

This book focuses on governance and management issues in the much publicized ‘Ganga Rejuvenation Project’, led by the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. It aims to address the governance and policy issues and will be a very timely contribution to cleaning as well as rejuvenating Ganga, a river that is lifeline of millions of people.

Readership: Practitioners, policy-makers and civil society organizations that are working for the Ganga clean-up and rejuvenation; general public, NGOs, environment agencies and aid agencies interested in the topic.