Ethnicity, Security and Separatism in India (review)

The end of the Cold War heralded a theoretical vacuum in international power politics that has yet to be filled. Several viable alternative theories have been proposed which build on concepts from past theories such as economic and regional hegemonies, polarization between core and periphery, and domestic security concerns driving international behavior, to name a few. In the realm of international relations, theory provides a framework for understanding a particular author’s perspective or argument. Certain theories, used as a heuristic tool, may help policy-makers analyze the behavior of states. Yet the predictive capacity of theoretical constructs in international relations is tenuous at best and egregiously inaccurate at worst. Maya Chadda’s book, Ethnicity, Security and Separatism in India, provides an important theoretical analysis of the interplay between domestic and international politics on ethnic demands. The framework within which this is examined, however, can be applied outside the South Asian context only with great caution.

In the pursuit of a theoretical alternative to the classical Realist and Marxist perspectives on foreign relations, Chadda spends a considerable amount of time defining the state and ethno-nationalist units. In particular, she focuses on India as the “supranational state” as opposed to separate states within the federal system. Furthermore, she asserts that the ethno-nationalist groups in supranational states are in fact “constructed mainly in the political sphere for purposes of political power,” although they are linked by some “cultural criteria.” Whether the author accurately uses her terminology can be deferred to another discussion; however, Chadda’s terminology permeates her analysis and is therefore important to an understanding of her book.

Chadda’s examination of India’s experience vis-á-vis domestic ethno-nationalist movements and India’s ability to “shape a state’s security perception and policies” is compelling. The absence of a bi-polar world and the presence of anarchy in international relations, in the Realist sense, is forcing states to turn inwards and concentrate on domestic developments. This situation of the international order is evident in states that are still in the process of nation-building, or nation-breaking, in the case of some states. The rising number of ethnic conflicts in the past decade supports this claim. In an increasingly multi-polar world, states are also defining and asserting themselves more in a regional rather than global context. Finally, the shifting balance in regional relations is affected by domestic factors that influence the posture of any given state.

Chadda posits that India’s historical mission to preserve unity in diversity and accommodate disparate ethno-nationalities has made the nation more vulnerable to outside influence. The argument follows a linear fashion since external intervention can be particularly destabilizing to a state that is attempting to balance different internal ethno-nationalistic demands. Thus, the constant need to adjust the balance between conceding to ethno-nationalistic demands and exercising central control has forged a link between nation-building and foreign policy.

Based on the author’s theoretical construct, she examines ethnic separatist movements among the Sikhs, Kashmiris and Tamils by outlining the domestic political and economic conditions that fostered these activities in the Indian subcontinent. The author further examines the international dimensions of these localized ethno-nationalistic conflict. In the case of Punjab and Kashmir regions, Pakistan’s involvement in assisting the ethno-nationalist efforts shaped India’s adversarial relationship towards it. While, in the case of the Tamil movement, sympathy by the Tamil Nadu group in India for their brethren in Sri Lanka precipitated India’s involvement in the Sri Lankan civil war. Internal conflicts not only shaped foreign policy, they, in fact, dictated India’s course of action. For example, India transformed the Sri Lankan conflict into a trans-border conflict by providing arms and political support to the Tamil movement. At the same time, India provided peacekeeping forces to quell the Singhala (JVP) rebellions. India’s involvement ultimately undermined the authority and legitimacy of the Sri Lankan government among both...