The second edition of this introductory textbook provides students with an overarching understanding of social, political, and economic institutions of six South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Using democracy as a prism, it evaluates the varied opportunities and constraints facing these states.

Key features include:

• Introduction to the region


• The history and development of these South Asian states, including evaluations of their democratic trajectories


• The management of conflict, economic development, and extremist threats


• A comparative analysis of the states


• Projections concerning democracy given evolving challenges

The textbook is an indispensable teaching tool for courses on South Asia. It includes pedagogical features such as political chronologies, political party descriptions, text boxes, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading. It is written in an accessible style by country experts, thus offering students of South Asian politics a valuable introduction to an exceedingly diverse and complicated region.