Norman K. Swazo - The Rohingya Crisis : A Moral, Ethnographic, and Policy Assessment

This book provides a history of the ethnic persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar and their disputed ethnic and national identity. It focuses on how the crisis has morphed into a geopolitical encounter among Bangladesh, China, India, and Myanmar. It further explores the moral, ethnographic, and public policy issues in the humanitarian response to the crisis of the Rohingya people.

The volume analyzes the question of citizenship for the Rohingyas by analyzing historical documents and interviews that chronicle the status and identity of the community and their past involvement in the government and politics of Myanmar. The authors focus specifically on the changing geopolitical context of state formation in South Asia and the tense relationships between Myanmar and its neighbors Bangladesh, China, and India. The book examines the alliances and disputes in the South and Southeast Asia region, which are predicated on economic and strategic gains, and their impact on the Rohingya crisis. It also looks at the failure of bilateral and multilateral negotiations among these countries to adequately address or alleviate the plight of the stateless Rohingyas.

This volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of international studies, peace, human rights and conflict studies, sociology, ethnic studies, border studies, migration and diaspora studies, discrimination and exclusion studies, public policy, and Asian studies. It will also be useful for professionals working in the media, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, and policy makers, as well as general readers interested in the history of the persecution of the Rohingya people.

Norman K. Swazo is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Office of Research at North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He specializes in ethics in international affairs, recent European philosophy, biomedical ethics, and philosophy of religion. He is the author of numerous journal articles in these areas of research and the author of several books, including Crisis Theory and World Order: Heideggerian Reflections; Destroying Idols: Revisioning the Meaning of God; and Heideggers Entscheidung: Decision between Fate and Destiny. He is the editor of Contemporary Moral Philosophy and Applied Ethics: An Anthology and contributing author to H. Bashir et al.s Co-Existing in a Globalized World: Key Themes in Inter-professional Ethics.

Sk. Tawfique M. Haque is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science and Sociology of North South University (NSU), Bangladesh. He is also working as the director of the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at NSU. Professor Haque has experience in university teaching with more than 18 years of undergraduate- and postgraduate-level teaching in Norway, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. He has published three books, ten book chapters from reputed international publishing houses, and more than 20 scientific research papers in national and international research journals in the fields of administrative culture, models of governance, NGO accountability, local civil society, globalization, and geopolitical issues.

Md. Mahbubul Haque is currently working at the Faculty of Law and International Relations in University Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA) Malaysia. Of Bangladeshi origin, Mahbub conducted research with international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) and NGOs in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. He obtained a masters of arts in history from Dhaka University, Bangladesh, and a masters of arts in human rights from Mahidol University, Thailand. Later, in 2014, he obtained a PhD in human rights and peace studies from the same institute in Thailand. Mahbub has received scholarships from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). He has published numerous articles in internationally recognized academic journals and the 2019 book Rohingya Survivors: Regional Security Implication of Gender Based Violence.

Tasmia Nower is Lecturer at North South University (NSU), Bangladesh. Prior to joining NSU, she worked for FWCO Management Consultants as a researcher in Vancouver, Canada, for a broad range of projects with clients including Justice Canada and Health Canada. Previously, she worked on foreign aid and development projects for KfW German Development Bank and the United Nations Development ProgramBangladesh. Tasmia obtained her MA in international studies from Simon Fraser University in Canada and her bachelors in international relations from Quest University Canada. Her MA thesis, Sectarianism or Geopolitics? Framing the 2011 Syrian Conflict, explores the sectarian dynamic of the Syrian conflict. Before Canada, she lived in Japan and the United States.

First published 2021

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ISBN: 978-0-367-34133-6 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-429-32410-9 (ebk)

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Dedicated to the Rohingya people and their right to both self-identity and a homeland