Games of life and land: A comparative analysis of the origins of true enclaves in South and Central Asia, their impacts on public policy, and factors prolonging their existence

Glen R. Hamburg

Previous works discussing the enclaves shared between India and Bangladesh, or the enclaves of Central Asia, have centered primarily on their historical origins and on their inhabitants’ living conditions. This monograph briefly reviews these works while making a comparison between the enclaves of the two regions. It then adds to the existing literature with an argument that international enclaves stymie the expressed and assumed development interests of both India and Kyrgyzstan. Finally, it considers potential explanations for the continued existence of enclaves in both South and Central Asia, despite the harm these geographical features surely cause for their 'owning' states and peoples. The work follows research conducted by the author as a Visiting Research Scholar at the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies at the University of Calcutta, and precedes a separate comprehensive study of public service delivery in the Kyrgyz exclave village Barak conducted by the author with the support of the United Nations Development Programme later in 2013.

Glen R. Hamburg Glen Hamburg's research focuses on how features of political geography affect aspects of human security across Asia and the Pacific. He holds a BA in Political Science from Western Washington University and an MA in Asia Pacific Policy Studies from the University of British Columbia. For his research of the India-Bangladesh enclaves Glen was awarded the Goel Family Charitable Foundation’s annual Nehru Humanitarian Award and named a Fellow of the Institute of Asian Research. He has interviewed the residents of both South and Central Asia, has personally visited Indian and Bangladeshi enclaves while researching this monograph, and has travelled to the enclave region between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan for further research since its publication.