Most studies on nations and nationalism argue that history, or more precisely a 'common past', is crucial for the process of national identity building. However, the existence of one or more concurrent narratives for the construction of this identity is often not accounted for, and there are cases where the 'common past' or a 'collective memory' is no longer shared.

This book centres on the construction, elaboration and negotiation of the narratives that have become official history in India. These narratives influence politics and the representation of the nation. Depending on the...

Applying an intercultural and comparative theoretical approach across Asia and Africa, this book analyses the rise and moderation of political movements in developing societies which mobilise popular support with references to conceptions of cultural identity. The author includes not only the Hindu nationalist movement but also many Islamist political movements in a single category - New Cultural Identitarian Political Movements (NCIPM). Demonstrating significant similarities in the pattern of evolution between these and European Christian Democracy, the book provides an instrument for the...

This book offers a novel approach to studying the political impact of refugees. It centres on the political incentives and reactions that arise in countries from hosting refugees. The first book to study protests by refugees and camp militarization in order to explain military intervention undertaken by neighboring countries, it focuses on two broad implications of refugee hosting: (1) the proclivity towards protests and refugee camp militarization in the host country; and (2) the likelihood that the host country will intervene militarily in the refugee sending neighboring country.

The...

The radical act of suicide protest is undertaken by social movement participants in order to demand a particular previously articulated political outcome. This book examines the history and impact of suicide protest, which has been increasingly used as a protest tactic since World War II, adding to a growing area of research on the ability of certain actions to impact policy in favour of movement goals.

The book offers a combination of historical and contemporary cases analysis from South Asia, where different iterations of this tactic have been used extensively throughout the latter...

Bridging two generations of scholarship on social inequality and modern political forms, this book examines the political philosophies of inclusion of subalterns/Dalits in Gramsci and Ambedkar s political philosophies. It highlights the full range of Gramsci s philosophy of praxis and presents a more critical appreciation of his thought in the study of South Asian societies. Equally, Ambedkar s thought and philosophy is put to the forefront and acquires a prominence in the international context.

Overcoming geographical, cultural and disciplinary boundaries, the book gives relevance to...

Britain s main imperial possessions in Asia were granted independence in the 1940s and 1950s and needed to craft constitutions for their new states. Invariably the indigenous elites drew upon British constitutional ideas and institutions regardless of the political conditions that prevailed in their very different lands. Many Asian nations called upon the services of Englishman and Law Professor Sir Ivor Jennings to advise or assist their own constitution making. Although he was one of the twentieth century s most prominent constitutional scholars, his opinion and influence were often...