Intelligence Services in South Asia: Colonial Past and Post-colonial Realities

This book explores colonial and post-colonial intelligence services in South Asia. It traces the genealogy of the institutions to analyze changes and continuities throughout the region.

The volume also provides a framework for analyzing how intelligence services developed in these countries by looking at both internal and external issues, and shows how vital and sometimes interconnected these issues are for understanding intelligence in South Asia. It demonstrates how some countries and intelligence services borrowed from the colonial era and others started new institutions to protect national security in response to the shifting demands of the Cold War and post-Cold War era. Bringing together a group of international scholars, the anthology delves into the intelligence services of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and traces how these national services developed in similar and diverse ways.

This book will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, Asian politics, security studies and International Relations.

Ryan Shaffer is an independent scholar and has a PhD in history with expertise in extremism and security. His books include The Handbook of Asian Intelligence Cultures, The Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures and African Intelligence Services: Early Postcolonial and Contemporary Challenges.

ASM Ali Ashraf is a Professor and Chair of the Department of International Relations at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He holds a PhD in international security policy from the University of Pittsburgh. He specializes in counterterrorism, intelligence, security and public policy.