Global Governance and India’s North-East Logistics, Infrastructure and Society

This book maps the convergence of governance and connectivity within Asia established through the spatial dynamics of trade, capital, conflict, borders and mobility. It situates Indian trade and governance policies within a broader Asian and global context.Focussing on India’s North-East, in particular on India’s Look and Act East Policy, the volume underscores how logistical governance in the region can bring economic and political transformations. It explores the projected development of the North-East into a gateway of transformative cultural interaction among people, just as the Silk Road became a conduit for Buddhism to travel along with musical instruments and tea.Comprehensive and topical, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of political studies, international relations, governance studies, development studies, international trade and economics and for think tanks working on South and Southeast Asia.

IntroductionIImagining Spaces through Mobility 1 Cartographies of Connectivity in Asia and the Indian Response 2 Interwoven Realities: Logistics and the Reshaping of Global Governance 3 Financialisation of Infrastructure and the Construction of a ‘Seamless Asia’ IIGeopolitics, Logistical Hubs and Connectivity 4 Bangladesh and the Double Look East 5 Logistical Hubs and the Look East and Act East Policy: The Case of Kolkata and Its Port IIIGoverning Connectivity: Logistics, Infrastructure and Society in the North-East 6 Bridge of Spaces: East by Rear East 7 Frontier Towns in the Spatial Dynamics of Trade, Capital and Conflict: From Look East to Act East 8 Governing the North-East: Conflict and Social Governance in Nagaland 9 Politics of (Im)migration and Look East Policy: Reflections from Assam and the North-East

Ranabir Samaddar belongs to the critical school of thinking and is considered as one of the foremost theorists in the field of forced migration studies. He has worked extensively on issues of forced migration, the theory and practices of dialogue, nationalism and post-colonial statehood in South Asia and new regimes of technological restructuring and labour control. He is currently the Distinguished Chair in Migration and Forced Migration Studies, Calcutta Research Group.Anita Sengupta is an area studies specialist engaged with the study of the Eurasian region. Her areas of interest include issues of identity politics, migration, gender, borders, critical geopolitics and logistics. She is a regular commentator on debates on Asian affairs. She has been Director, Calcutta Research Group and is currently Director, Asia in Global Affairs Kolkata.