The concept of good governance in South Asia poses a challenge at the implementation level, mainly due to ethnocentricity, regional disparities, division between poor and rich, and rural and urban division among the people. Concepts such as decentralization, citizen engagement, lean public service, privatization, autonomy, public-private partnership may work well in developed countries but may not produce the same results in the region where the majority of poor people expect their government to fulfill their basic needs. Governance in South Asia needs to be reformed to ensure that poverty can be reduced, if not completely eradicated. Poor governance and the various means by which governance has fallen short, has led to lack of development and continuance of poverty in South Asian societies. South Asian countries have more or less similar objectives, structures, value systems, cultures, and standards of governance despite different forms of government. The colonial legacy of British administrative system had its impact on centralization. Secrecy, elitism, rigidity, and social isolation is common to all South Asian countries. The post-colonial administrative system is built upon pre-colonial administrative traditions throughout the region. These countries can learn from each other’s experiences. They need to develop an indigenous model to find pragmatic solutions to the challenges of good governance. This book argues that countries in South Asian can achieve good results through good governance if they develop and adopt an indigenous model rather than simply borrowing models and ideas from the West. Please note: This title is co-published with Manohar Publishers, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

This book explores and analyzes governance and policy issues in South, Southeast, and East Asia. It maps governance challenges and analyzes current trends from the perspectives of democracy, public policy, and public institutions. Regional public administration and governance systems have undergone some phenomenal changes over the last three decades and have played a key role in the economic progress of the area, especially in the Southeast and East Asian nations. Rich with country-specific evidence and analyses, the chapters in the book apply empirical and other research methods to examine shifting paradigms and best practices. This book develops an understanding of changes in the forms, process and practices of governance, both within the context of each nation and in a comparative perspective. The book will appeal to scholars, academics, students, and practitioners of public administration, political science, and policy issues.

This book offers a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach to understand the trends and issues of development, governance, and dynamics of gender in the South Asian region. It familiarizes the reader with the quantitative as well as qualitative aspects of governance and development. Contributing authors pay close attention to the socio-political and economic developments in South Asia in their respective chapters. The book is divided into four parts. The first part analyzes the social and economic development of South Asia in the context of human development, state apparatus, and migration. The second part focuses on issues of good governance and human rights. Issues related to minorities and corporate governance are also discussed specifically. The third part deals with the role of media and literature in the development narratives of South Asia. The last part highlights the inter-linkages between gender narratives and development. It is a must-read for those interested in understanding the socio-economic fabrics, political dynamics, and trajectory of development in South Asia.

13 Role of social audit in curbing corruption in India -- Index

In 1947, British India-the part of South Asia that is today's India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh-emerged from the colonial era with the world's largest centrally managed canal irrigation infrastructure. However, as vividly illustrated by Tushaar Shah, the orderly irrigation economy that saved millions of rural poor from droughts and famines is now a vast atomistic system of widely dispersed tube-wells that are drawing groundwater without permits or hindrances. Taming the Anarchy is about the development of this chaos and the prospects to bring it under control. It is about both the massive benefit that the irrigation economy has created and the ill-fare it threatens through depleted aquifers and pollution. Tushaar Shah brings exceptional insight into a socio-ecological phenomenon that has befuddled scientists and policymakers alike. In systematic fashion, he investigates the forces behind the transformation of South Asian irrigation and considers its social, economic, and ecological impacts. He considers what is unique to South Asia and what is in common with other developing regions. He argues that, without effective governance, the resulting groundwater stress threatens the sustenance of the agrarian system and therefore the well being of the nearly one and a half billion people who live in South Asia. Yet, finding solutions is a formidable challenge. The way forward in the short run, Shah suggests, lies in indirect, adaptive strategies that change the conduct of water users. From antiquity until the 1960‘s, agricultural water management in South Asia was predominantly the affair of village communities and/or the state. Today, the region depends on irrigation from some 25 million individually owned groundwater wells. Tushaar Shah provides a fascinating economic, political, and cultural history of the development and use of technology that is also a history of a society in transition. His book provides powerful ideas and lessons for researchers, historians, and policy

'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 RegionFive out of the eight South Asian countries have direct access to the Indian ocean, yet research tends to focus instead on the region's landmass. Much less attention is paid to the extensive maritime space that links South Asian countries, provides their populations with vital access to resources, connects their economies to global trade networks and perhaps most importantly, contributes to law and order at sea.At a time when the Indian Ocean has gained great interest and relevance for many global actors, the role and location of South Asia will have critical implications for strategic calculation and alignment. Furthermore, if trade imbalances are to be tackled and economic globalization to regain steam, enhancing South Asia's ability to export and import through the oceans is essential. Finally, climate change is projected to impact South Asia massively. Coping with humanitarian crises and natural disasters will need critical investments in maritime capacities and cooperation.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.

"This book examines the structures of governance as they impact women in five conflict zones in South Asia: Swat in Pakistan, the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, the Northern Province in Sri Lanka, and Kashmir and Manipur in India. Despite their different historical and political contexts, the five studies included here throw up some common patterns. War and conflict have weakened and eroded existing formal structures and institutions of governance. New formations, whether made up of militant groups, or more ‘secular’ state institutions like armies, do not see women as rights-bearing actors. Further, the authors argue, the impact of war, conflict, settlerism and militancy can make state structures more distant and sometimes incomprehensible to citizens, leaving women’s specific gender concerns unaddressed. Taken together, the essays show that women’s relationship with governance institutions is complex, and combines dependence on such institutions with the challenge of dealing with new forms of patriarchy that take root as structures transform and change. The gendering of governance policy and practice therefore, is of crucial importance."--