The questions that inspired this study are central to contemporary research within environmental anthropology, political ecology, and environmental history: How does the introduction of a modern, capitalist, resource regime affect the livelihood of indigenous peoples? Can sustainable resource management be achieved in a situation of radical commodification> of land and other aspects of nature? Focusing on conflicts relating to forest management, mining, and land rights, the author offers an insightful account of present-day challenges for indigenous people to accommodate aspirations for ethnic sovereignty and development.

Contributed articles chiefly with reference to rural development in Northeastern India; includes articles on cultural history of the region.

This book discusses the history of unrest and conflict in Northeast India from 1947 to the present day. A perceptive study on public policy and its delivery in the region, the volume highlights that a crisis of governance, security and development has emerged in the Northeast because of the way various government institutions and agencies have been functioning in the area. It uses case studies to illumine conflict dynamics in the two erstwhile princely states of Manipur and Tripura, along with in-depth discussions on Assam and Nagaland. Drawing upon major policy documents, on-the-ground experience and rare insight, the book examines centre–state relations, the armed forces, special acts, human rights and larger policy-level questions confronting the region. It also underlines the key role of the northeastern states in India’s ‘Look East’ policy. Cogent and authentic, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of security studies, peace and conflict studies, area studies, Indian politics and history, particularly those concerned with Northeast India.

India’s Northeast has long been riven by protracted armed conflicts for secession and movements for other forms of autonomy. This book shows how the conflicts in the region have gradually shifted towards inter-ethnic feuds, rendered more vicious by the ongoing multiplication of ethnicities in an already heterogeneous region. It further traces the intricate contours of the conflicts and the attempts of the dominant groups to establish their hegemonies against the consent of the smaller groups, as well as questions the efficacy of the state’s interventions. The volume also engages with the recurrent demands for political autonomy, and the resultant conundrum that hobbles the region’s economic and political development processes. Lucid, topical and thorough in analysis, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers in political science, sociology, development studies and peace & conflict studies, particularly those concerned with Northeast India.

Since 2011, democratic transitions in the Middle East and North Africa have mostly failed to consolidate and have been hindered by the difficult economic heritage of previous authoritarian governments. Yet newly established democratic governments must deliver on the expectations of their people, especially the poorer strata, otherwise disillusionment may open the door to restoration of authoritarian rule. Can democracy succeed? Various ideas for economic policies that may help consolidate the early democratisation process are proposed in this volume, while major obstacles on the way to democratic success are also highlighted. Contributors include: Alissa Amico, Laura El-Katiri, Philippe Fargues, Bassam Fattouh, Steffen Hertog, Giacomo Luciani, Samir Makdisi, Adeel Malik, Bassem Snaije, Robert Springborg, and Eckart Woertz.

Before the introduction of modern political and administrative institutions after 1947, Northeast India led a comparatively cloistered existence. The steps taken toward "development" during the last forty years have radically altered the economic, social, and political organization of the region and made it one of the most disturbed and politically volatile in all of India. This book analyzes the problems and prospects for change in the Northeast in light of its complex history.