Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz has published a book chapter on the challenges to governance in South Asia. The chapter, “Four Challenges to Governance in South Asia,” examines the state of governance in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Riaz argues that the state’s capacity is an essential element of governance that goes beyond administrative, extractive, coercive capacities of the state. He underscores the need for legitimization capacity of the state for governance. Riaz identifies four challenges to governance in south Asian countries, namely contesting sources of legitimacy of state, lack of inclusivity in governance and politics, absence of rule of law, and the existence of neo-patrimonialism. He further argues that since 1990s, neoliberal economic policies in South Asia have created a permanent underclass and weakened the effectiveness of governance.
The chapter is included in the edited volume Governance in the 21st Century in South Asia: Challenges and Ways Forward. The volume is edited by Shamsun Naher Khanam and published by Hakkani Publishers of Bangladesh.
