Disturbance in South Asian Democracy and Strategic Security in the 21st Century

Abstract

South Asia is home to almost a quarter of the world’s people. It is also home to some of most fragile democracies of the world. In the last five years, the region has seen a president flee his palace, a prime minister flee her country, an army chief announce an interim government, and two nuclear-armed neighbours fight a four-day war. This paper looks at these events together. It asks a simple question. Is democratic disturbance in South Asia connected to strategic insecurity, or are the two separate problems that just happen to share a map? Using country cases from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India, along with the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict, the paper argues that weak democratic institutions and strategic insecurity feed each other. It draws on democratic backsliding theory, securitization theory, and hybrid regime theory. This paper uses verifiable public sources, news reporting, think-tank analysis, and government statements. The proposed paper ends with policy suggestions for regional and international actors.