Development Strategies, Identities, and Conflict in Asia explores the links between Asian governments' development strategies and the nature and dynamics of inter-group violence, analyzing variations in strategies and their impacts through broad comparative analyses, as well as case studies focused on eight countries.

Development Strategies, Identities, and Conflict in Asia explores the links between Asian governments' development strategies and the nature and dynamics of inter-group violence, analyzing variations in strategies and their impacts through broad comparative analyses, as well as case studies focused on eight countries.

Although many scholars and practitioners recognize that development and conflict are intertwined, there is much less understanding of the mechanisms behind these linkages. This book takes a new approach by critically examining how various development strategies provoke or help prevent intrastate violence, based on cases from all developing regions.

Much of the world reaped a peace dividend with the end of the Cold War, yet Asia has seen little reduction in tensions and military spending. Three Cold War era conflicts-those dividing China and Taiwan, North and South Korea, and India and Pakistan-remain unresolved. Other regional powers, as well as the United States, continue to be concerned about these volatile disputes. North Korea's nuclear and long-range missile development, China's opposition to Taiwan's pursuit of independence, and Pakistan's longstanding dispute with India have all received increasing media attention. This is the first volume using a common approach to examine post-Cold War changes in these three volatile dyads. The book's case studies detail the evolution of each country's security policy and its shifting mix of alliances. The authors analyze U.S. interests and discuss how U.S. intervention affects strategic calculations of the conflicted states. This mechanism allows gives the readers a truer understanding of the conflicts and how they interact within the Asian security system in general. Each of the dominant theoretical frameworks of international relations-neo-realism, neo-liberalism, and constructivism-offer crucial insights into this complicated situation.

Subnational conflict is the most widespread, enduring, and deadly form of conflict in Asia. Over the past 20 years (1992-2012), there have been 26 subnational conflicts in South and Southeast Asia, affecting half of the countries in this region. Concerned about foreign interference, national governments limit external access to conflict areas by journalists, diplomats, and personnel from international development agencies and non-governmental organizations. As a result, many subnational conflict areas are poorly understood by outsiders and easily overshadowed by larger geopolitical issues, bilateral relations, and national development challenges. The interactions between conflict, politics, and aid in subnational conflict areas are a critical blind spot for aid programs. This study was conducted to help improve how development agencies address subnational conflicts.

This book combines overviews of the nature and causes of inter-group violence in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa with a collection of country case studies. Both the overview chapter and the case studies trace how economic policy initiatives, and consequent changes in the roles and statuses of various groups, shape conflict or cooperation.

This book examines the changing national identities that are transforming East Asia - pushing China and Taiwan apart and toward a showdown, while propping up a weakened North Korea. Accomplished contributors analyze the dynamics and the U.S.'s policy response.