How do political parties in developing countries, without access to accurate polling data, understand their voters? I examine the role that various sources of information play in political party platforms, and how the method of data collection affects parties’ policy and political efforts, primarily by using interview data from 2012 and 2013 with workers from four leading parties in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. I theorize the role of party workers as a key conduit for information between party leaders and the voters they represent.

Violence in the Kashmir Valley has dramatically declined since 2003, but this has not created a stable political order. India has not succeeded in overcoming the contradiction between its articulated ideals of “normalcy” and its actual policy, which undermines those ideals. This debilitating tension can be found elsewhere in Asia.

In recent years, Indian leaders have elevated the prominence of democratic rhetoric in their regional and international political discourse. This paper examines India's record of democracy promotion. It argues that India has much to gain by selectively supporting democracy in neighboring countries. Furthermore, participating in multinational efforts at democracy promotion offers India a potential vehicle for global leadership.

South Asia's future energy consumption will be driven by continuing economic growth and demographic trends. The likely inability of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to meet burgeoning energy demands poses a threat to their energy security. U.S. policy in Asia constrains the ability of South Asian countries to enhance their energy security, either indigenously or through imports. This may have unintended consequences for U.S. strategic interests in South Asia in particular, and in Asia in general.

The interests of India and Bangladesh have been diverging for some years now, bringing the two countries to what is probably the nadir of their bilateral relations. This article examines the factors shaping these relations and argues that a host of structural and domestic political variables are pulling India and Bangladesh in opposite directions. This deterioration in ties can have important consequences for the two states, South Asia, and the international community at large.