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Critical Geopolitics and the Construction of Security in South Asia

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Critical Geopolitics and the Construction of Security in South Asia Critical Geopolitics and the Construction of Security in South Asia by Iqbal Shailo MA in Public Policy & Public Administraion, Concordia University, Montreal Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism, Concordia University BA (Hons.), MA in English, Dhaka University, Dhaka A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © copyright 2013 Iqbal Shailo To my dad… [Marhum Ali Ahmed Talukder] Yes! I did it… Abstract The study demonstrates how the security of the south Asian region, specifically within the context of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, is an epistemological question. This is especially so in how cultural and political identities are structured, how the politics and power nexus works in the region by distinguishing ‘We’ and ‘They’, and in how hegemonic power is a concern in establishing any security concept in the region. The thesis examines contemporary discourses of identity, danger, threat, and imagined community as part of a broader discussion of critical geopolitics, specifically popular geopolitics. Discourse analysis acts as a method for studying how identities are formed and transformed in a historical context, how danger and threats are securitized and how ‘the other’ is used to construct security concepts from South Asian perspectives. Foreign policies and security narratives are not only indispensable for examining South Asian security concepts; images and other forms of representation are also important in shaping the patterns of security, identity, security integration and social order. Popular culture and visual media, such as films and cartoons, are deeply rooted in geopolitical discourse. They can reinforce or contest geopolitical images and representations, and are able to provide a framework for interpreting and understanding geo-historical and contemporary events. Visual media are involved with learning and social mobilization and they may influence and inspire national and regional institutions to reshape the traditional structure of security in the South Asian region. The study seeks to rethink the discourses of security community and regional security integration from a critical perspective, laying down an analysis of critical security approaches to show that a broader security agenda necessitates the inclusion of various dimensions (economic, environmental, military and societal aspects) for the South Asian region. Finally, the research contributes to the field of the geographical dimensions of security emphasizing that the role of popular geopolitics is indispensable to understanding the essentially contested concept of security in South Asia. Acknowledgements Any research study involves the contribution of many people in numerous ways and I am grateful to all of them. I would like to thank Dr. Simon Dalby, my principal supervisor, for his insight, acuity, potentials and engagement who propelled me to get this project done. Without his help and sustained commitment to me and to my work, this project would never have finished. Thanks are also due to Dr. Iain Wallace and Dr. Peter Jones, my committee members, for offering helpful comments and guidelines. Dr. Wallace played an invaluable role and was associated with my research since the beginning of my Ph.D. program providing endless support, and passed feedback and comments on many conceptual papers while I was developing my theoretical concepts. When looking for another committee member with expertise on South Asia, I was fortunate to meet Dr. Peter Jones of Ottawa University who agreed to guide me after a brief discussion with him at his Ottawa University office. In his intelligent and supportive ways, he played a great role in the project and guided me throughout the years. The India and Bangladesh research field trip was supported by Dr. Simon Dalby out of his Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) research grants. I am grateful to the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies (DGES) and Carleton University for providing additional financial assistance including graduate scholarship, fellowship and bursary. I am grateful to Dr. Douglas King, Dr. Fran Klodawsky and Dr. Michael Brklacich for their support over the years at Carleton. I want to thank the late Hazel Anderson, Susan Tudin, Elsie Clement, Judy Eddy, John Wall, Sarah Rennie, Meriam Atkinson, Dale Armstrong and Glenn Brauen for their kind support and assistance. I would like to specially thank Natalie Pressburger ii for all the timely and efficient support she provided over the years that was simply incredible. I am grateful to Dr. Basudeb Chaudhry, Director, Centre de Sciences Humaines (CSH), New Delhi, India for offering me an affiliation as research fellow and providing valuable support in coordination and communication with think-tanks and universities in New Delhi. Mallika Hanif of CSH also deserves special thanks for her support and assistance. I specially thank all of the interviewees who helped me develop my project with their ideas, perspectives and thoughts. I thank cartoonists Ajit Ninan and Yusuf Munna for giving me permission to use their cartoons in the study. I can vividly remember my dad who used to call me “Dr. Iqbal” when I was only three years old, and his “call” inspired me to enter into this wild and monotonous long journey of Ph.D. program. He is a great source of my inspiration and encouragement, and I know he watches me from Heaven and he looks happy as I have fulfilled his dream. “Dad! I did it.” Finally, my thanks to my family, especially to my mom for her support and good wishes, and to Farah for her invaluable support throughout the years, though she wanted to finish the project as soon as possible so that as a family we could enjoy all summers and springs across Canada. Falaq Shailo, my son! you kept me smiling and happy always. I would like to thank my sisters and brothers—Nurjahan, Tahura, Didarul, Shabbeer and especially, my dear youngest sister Afrin— who always enquired about the progress of my project. I know my two late brothers, Jahangir and Humayun, are also delighted in Heaven. Iqbal Shailo Ottawa 2013 iii Contents Critical Geopolitics and the Construction of Security in South Asia Abstract i Acknowledgements ii Contents iv List of Figures viii List of Tables x Abbreviations xi Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Prelude: Setting the Scene 1 1.2 Research Question 2 1.3 Approach and Methodology 5 Chapter 2: Geopolitics and South Asia 2.1 Framing an “Imagined Region” of South Asia 22 2.2 The Division of the Sub-Continent: A Brief Geopolitical Sketch 29 2.3 A Geopolitical Division of Pakistan: From “Two to Three” and the Birth of Bangladesh 34 2.4 A 60 Year Geopolitical Chaos and Climax: A Triangle Geopolitical Crisis 40 2.5 Summary of the Chapter 44 Chapter 3: Popular Geopolitics, the Production of Popular (Common) Sense and Regional Security Integration in South Asia 3.1 Region, Transborder Integration, Geographical Scholarship and Security Community/Complex Theories 46 3.2 Popular Culture, Social Learning and Evolution of a Security Community in South Asia 55 3.2.1 Sidaway’s Imagined Regional Communities 57 3.2.2 Adler and Barnett’s Security Communities 59 iv 3.2.3 An Overview of Sidaway’s Imagined Regional Communities and Adler and Barnett’s Security Communities 64 3.3 The Theory of Audience and Popular Geopolitics 65 3.4 Reimagining a Security Community for the South Asian Region 71 3.5 Summary of the Chapter 77 Chapter 4: Geopolitics and Security 4.1 The Growth and Genesis of Geopolitics: An Overview 79 4.2 Knowing and Defining Security: The Proliferation of Concepts 82 4.3 Definitions and Redefinitions of Security: an Underdeveloped Concept 87 4.4 Geography, Security and Uncertainty 91 4.5 The Politics of South Asian Regional Security 96 4.6 Summary of the Chapter 104 Chapter 5: Critical Geopolitics and Discourse Analysis 5.1 Discourse Analysis and Critical Geopolitics 106 5.2 Basic Concepts of Popular Geopolitics 111 5.3 Discourse Analysis and Geopolitical Representation of Codes, Identity and Boundary, Danger and Threat and Imagined Community 116 5.3.1 Geopolitical Representation of Codes 117 5.3.2 Identity and Boundary 119 5.3.3 Danger and Threat 120 5.3.4 Imagined Community 121 5.4 Summary of the Chapter 122 Chapter 6: Geopolitical Representation of Codes 6.1 Geopolitical Codes 124 6.2 Scales of Geopolitical Codes and the Sub-continent 125 6.3 Geopolitical Codes and Foreign Policy Paradigms of the Sub-continent 128 6.3.1 Geopolitical Codes and Indian Foreign Policy 128 6.3.2 Geopolitical Codes and Pakistani Foreign Policy 135 6.3.3 Geopolitical Codes and Bangladeshi Foreign Policy 141 6.4 Geopolitical Representations and Foreign Policies of the Sub-Continent 146 6.5 Summary of the Chapter 153 v Chapter 7: Identity and Boundary 7.1 Border Narratives and the Sub-continent 155 7.2 A Case Study of Fencing the Borders of Bangladesh: Division of Cultural and Linguistic Affinity 159 7.3 Decades-Long Cold Conflicts and Border Disputes between Bangladesh and India 162 7.4 Illegal Bangladeshis and “Operation Pushback”: BJP’s Political Campaign 165 7.5 Transborder Security, the State of West Bengal of India and Bangladesh 170 7.6 Transborder Terrorism, the Role of SAARC and Security Narratives of the Sub-continent 172 7.7 People’s Imaginations, Popular Narratives and Geopolitical Scripts 180 7.8 Summary of the Chapter 188 Chapter 8: Danger and Threat 8.1 Cartoon: A Geopolitical
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