South Asia

This is the season of elections in South Asia. At the beginning of November 2013, India is bracing for a period of political fireworks and serious debate ahead of a general election. Pakistan, long used to military dominance and praetorian politics, is now busy in trying to soft-land as a born-again democracy. In Bangladesh, it is apparent that an existential battle for democracy is being waged in an atmosphere of heated passions. Sri Lanka, still seeking to leave the worse of its long civil war behind, does have an opportunity to begin a challenging process of putting the house in order. Afghanistan, caught in the contentions of a long countdown for the withdrawal of US troops and a coming presidential election, faces an unpredictable future.