Crime-terror nexus in South Asia : states, security and non-state actors / Ryan Clarke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Clarke, Ryan.

Series:

Asian security studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Terrorism--Pakistan.

Terrorism.

Security, International.

Crime.

Pakistan.

Terrorism--South Asia.

South Asia.

Crime--Pakistan.

Crime--South Asia.

Security, International--South Asia.

National security--South Asia.

National security.

Non-state actors (International relations).

Physical Description:

224 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2011.

Summary:

This book examines the crime-terror nexus in South Asia, focusing in particular on the activities of non-state actors that operate out of Pakistan and challenging the conventional wisdom that the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) and Al-Qaeda are Pakistan's most serious security threats.

Much research has focused on the policies of India and Pakistan towards Kashmir. But surprisingly little attention has been paid to several notable Pakistan-based non-state actors who are increasingly operating on their own, and who have the potential to greatly inhibit, if not derail, the peace process there. These groups blur the line between terrorism and organized crime with serious implications for policy in the region. India and Pakistan can engage in confidence-building measures, but if criminal actors such as Lashkar-i-Taibra (LeT) and D-Company cannot effectively be controlled, a lack of trust between both sides will remain.

Although the role of regular military forces is not be discounted, many of the non-state actors in land Indian-Held Kashmir such as LeT are not confined by the same restrains as state forces, thus allowing them to engage in more violent actions without fear of reprised. In order for lawmakers, security personnel and others to develop sound, comprehensive policies, these forces and their potential to undermine political initiative must be fully appreciated. This book explores the dynamics of the relationship between Pakistan, D-Company and LeT and how it affects strategic though, decision-making and security interests in the region, and explains the triangular relationships between states, terrorist groups and organized criminal syndicates in general, and in India and Pakistan in particular.

This book will be of much interest to students of South Asian politics, terrorism, organized crime, ware and conflict studies and security studies in general. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Analysis of current research 14

2 Misgovernance and proxy warfare in Kashmir: laying the groundwork for the crime-terror nexus 28

3 The crime-terror nexus and Chinese arms in Indian-Held Kashmir 46

4 Lashkar-i-Taiba: the fallacy of subservient proxies and the future of Islamist terrorism in India 66

5 LeT and D-Company in Pakistan: selective justice, sectarianism and artificial distinctions 112

6 Breakdown of order in FATA: driven by the Pakistani Taliban and Al-Qaeda but ideologically underwritten by LeT 138

7 The Pakistani economy: imbalances and contradictions, incomplete Islamization and D-Company as a strategic asset 167.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780415610315

0415610311

9780203818947

0203818946

OCLC:

651914375