Developments in South Asia in the areas of democracy, political economy and security in the last couple of years are intriguing and raise questions about whether the region is on the road to transformation. The years 2013 and 2014, particularly, have been ‘years of transition’ in South Asia. Almost all South Asia countries have undergone political transitions with cascading effects. These elections are significant for South Asian countries because the region has witnessed political instability for a long period of time. The elections in South Asia generated the hope that the most un-integrated region may become interdependent after coming up of new sets of political heads. These developments in the region have an influence on India’s foreign policy and also mould its domestic politics; and vice-versa. India’s policy towards individual countries also has a decisive impact on the pace of on-going political transitions in a number of spheres: civil-military relations, foreign policy of individual countries, socio-political and economic dynamics and nature of governance. These transitions reflect the nature, behaviour and response of the transitory states towards the others. India, as an important stakeholder in the region is keenly observing these transitions in its neighbourhood. This book titled: Transitions and Interdependence: India and Its Neighbours is the outcome of serious deliberations among well known scholars, diplomats and policy makers at the Fifth Asian Relations Conference organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs in collaboration with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in February 2014. Papers presented in the conference have been thoroughly revised before publication and the editors acknowledge with gratitude theses insightful contributions.

The peaceful end of apartheid in South Africa was a monumental event in late twentieth century history. A racist regime built upon a foundation of colonialist exploitation, South Africa had become by that point a tinderbox: suffused with day-to-day violence and political extremism on all sides. Yet two decades later it was a stable democracy with a growing economy. How did such a deeply divided, conflicted society manage this remarkable transition? In When Political Transitions Work, Fanie du Toit, who has been a participant and close observer in post-conflict developments throughout Africa for decades, offers a new theory for why South Africa's reconciliation worked and why its lessons remain relevant for other nations emerging from civil conflicts. He uses reconciliation as a framework for political transition and seeks to answer three key questions: how do the reconciliation processes begin; how can political transitions result in inclusive and fair institutional change; and to what extent does reconciliation change the way a society functions? Looking at South Africa, one of reconciliation's most celebrated cases, du Toit shows that the key ingredient to successful reconciliations is acknowledging the centrality of relationships. He further develops his own theoretical approach to reconciliation-as-interdependence-the idea that reconciliation is the result of an integrated process of courageous leadership, fair and inclusive institutions, and social change built toward a mutual goal of prosperity. As du Toit conveys, the motivation for reconciliation is the long-term well-being of one's own community, as well as that of enemy groups. Without ensuring the conditions in which one's enemy can flourish, one's own community is unlikely to prosper sustainably.

The reforms of the Soviet and Chinese communist regimes were unparalleled-both in the radical, precedent-setting reforms attempted by the two countries and in the outcomes of these attempts. While the Soviet Union collapsed quickly in the midst of its reforms, more than a decade later China, the world's most populous country, still stands as a testament to the resilience of Communist rule. It is this phenomenon that Christopher Marsh explores in Unparalleled Reforms. Marsh goes beyond simply discussing the differing initial conditions, the sequencing of reform, and cultural differences to also consider the objectives and intentions of the policy makers and leaders that directed the reform processes and the interdependent nature of politics on the world stage. Unparalleled Reforms offers the reader a sophisticated understanding of the nature of political reform and develops a theoretical model that can account for commonly overlooked factors that affect political processes in all types of political systems. In a class all its own, this is an important work for scholars interested in comparative politics, international relations, economics, Asian studies, and Russian studies.

Why are some nations wealthy while others are desperately poor? Despite the rapid advancement of technology and the free flow of information provided by computers, many poor nations are falling further behind the wealthy nations of the world. Why is it that these poorer nations cannot catch up? Until recently, economic theory provided limited help

The Interdependent Organization provides its readers with a template for the development of an individualized transition plan to guide their journey toward becoming more organizationally sustainable. We as humans tend to rely on our current set of assumptions when we evaluate our actions and their potential impact on the future. With today’s ever-increasing rate of change in technology, our access to information, and cultural interactions (interdependence) around the world, the reliance on old ways of thinking (linear) will not allow us to effectively transition into the systems-based world of tomorrow. The Interdependent Organization presents a deeper understanding of the financial, operational, and cultural crossroads we are facing as a planet, and introduces a systems-based transitional path that individuals, organizations, and societies can draw on to move towards a more holistic and sustainable future. The book provides readers with the necessary understanding and insight into systems, systems-thinking, and the use of systems-based business tools to guide the sustainability journey while producing a positive impact to the organization’s bottom-line, its employee engagement, and its stakeholders’ expectations in each of the journey's three stages. The journey begins with the adoption of simple yet powerful systems-based tools for managing the organization’s operations and projects. These proven tools provide increased productivity with a proven bottom-line improvement that exceeds 30%. This introduction to systems-based tools and thinking provides the organization with the time to become more familiar with this new way of thinking and making business decisions before they expand their exposure to broader, more complex systems-based and sustainable practices. The second stage of this journey is focused on introducing new tools and practices to insure a consistent set of measures are used across the organization. The third and final stage focuses on aligning the organization’s people-management practices.

From one of the world's leading experts on the history of energy, a rigorous examination of the transitions that structure our modern world--and the environmental reckoning that will mark its success or failure. What makes the modern world work? The answer to this deceptively simple question lies in four "grand transitions" of civilization--in populations, agriculture, energy, and economics--which have transformed the way we live. Societies that have undergone all four transitions emerge into an era of radically different population dynamics, food surpluses (and waste), abundant energy use, and expanding economic opportunities. Simultaneously, in other parts of the world, hundreds of millions remain largely untouched by these developments. Through erudite storytelling, Vaclav Smil investigates the fascinating and complex interactions of these transitions. He argues that the moral imperative to share modernity's benefits has become more acute with increasing economic inequality, but addressing this imbalance would make it exceedingly difficult to implement the changes necessary for the long-term preservation of the environment. Thus, managing the fifth transition--environmental changes from natural-resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and global warming--will determine the success or eventual failure of the grand transitions that have made the world we live in today.