{
"authors": [
"Bhavani Fonseka",
"Amish Raj Mulmi",
"Paul Staniland",
"Milan Vaishnav",
"Zoha Waseem"
],
"type": "event",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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"collections": [
"Politics of Opposition in South Asia"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "SAP",
"programs": [
"South Asia"
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"regions": [
"South Asia",
"India",
"Pakistan"
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"topics": [
"Democracy",
"Global Governance",
"Civil Society"
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}
Unpacking the Politics of Opposition in South Asia
Tue, February 28th, 2023
Online
While voters across South Asia were once optimistic about the future of democracy, recent political setbacks in the region have dampened these hopes. However, most accounts of democratic backsliding focus on the strategies and tactics of regime incumbents, leaving little room for close study of opposition forces.
In a new Carnegie South Asia report, The Politics of Opposition in South Asia, a group of scholars attempts to fill this analytical gap by focusing on the diverse array of opposition forces at work. Exploring a range of cases—from citizen protests in Sri Lanka to armed groups in Pakistan and street movements in Nepal—this report argues that opposition forces can help explain regime behavior as well as inform the possibilities of democratic renewal.
Please join us as we welcome contributors Bhavani Fonseka, Amish Raj Mulmi, and Zoha Waseem, who will be in conversation with report co-editors Paul Staniland and Milan Vaishnav, to discuss the state of the opposition space in countries across South Asia.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Event Speakers
Bhavani Fonseka
Bhavani Fonseka is a senior researcher and lawyer with the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Amish Raj Mulmi
Amish Raj Mulmi is a journalist and author of All Roads Lead North: China, Nepal, and the Contest for the Himalayas (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Paul Staniland is a nonresident scholar in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Director and Senior Fellow, South Asia Program
Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program and the host of the Grand Tamasha podcast at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His primary research focus is the political economy of India, and he examines issues such as corruption and governance, state capacity, distributive politics, and electoral behavior. He also conducts research on the Indian diaspora.
Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Zoha Waseem is a nonresident scholar in the Carnegie South Asia Program.