Marika Vicziany

This multi-disciplinary book provides a comprehensive analysis of the EU-India relationship from 1950 to the present day, as a way of assessing whether a meaningful and sustainable relationship is emerging and whether it will play a role in the future of international diplomacy and business. The question comes at a time of significant changes in the re-configuration of global power. Using both historical insights and contemporary policy analysis, the authors investigate whether the social, economic and political interests of the EU and India are genuinely compatible. Leaders in both regions have been promoting the relationship for many decades, but the authors scrutinize their words to discover whether they are merely rhetorical gestures or reflect genuine complementarities. They also investigate the motivation behind the relationship, and provide an in-depth analysis of the areas of mutual interest and conflict. The book examines these issues in the context of the history of the EU-India relationship, alongside contemporary policy concerns. This comparative book will appeal to academics, students and policy-makers with an interest in international politics and public policy, economic development and business, Asian studies and European studies.

Over the last two decades, China's extraordinary rate of economic growth has been driven by the 120-150 million people who have flocked into China's cities from the surrounding countryside in search of a better life. This book examines the manner in which these people live, work, and interact with their urban cousins. A particular feature of the book is its comparative focus, with interesting parallels drawn between China's experience with mass internal migration and labour market restructuring and the experiences of India, Mexico, and France.

In a sensitive and compelling account of the lives of those at the very bottom of Indian society, Oliver Mendelsohn and Marika Vicziany explore the construction of the Untouchables as a social and political category, the historical background which led to such a definition, and their position in India today. The authors argue that, despite efforts to ameliorate their condition on the part of the state, a considerable edifice of discrimination persists on the basis of a tradition of ritual subordination. Even now, therefore, it still makes sense to categorise these people as ‘Untouchables’. The book promises to make a major contribution to the social and economic debates on poverty, while its wide-ranging perspectives will ensure an interdisciplinary readership from historians of South Asia, to students of politics, economics, religion and sociology.

In a sensitive and compelling account of the lives of those at the very bottom of Indian society, Oliver Mendelsohn and Marika Vicziany explore the construction of the Untouchables as a social and political category, the historical background which led to such a definition, and their position in India today. The authors argue that, despite efforts to ameliorate their condition on the part of the state, a considerable edifice of discrimination persists on the basis of a tradition of ritual subordination. Even now, therefore, it still makes sense to categorise these people as 'Untouchables'. The book promises to make a major contribution to the social and economic debates on poverty, while its wide-ranging perspectives will ensure an interdisciplinary readership from historians of South Asia, to students of politics, economics, religion and sociology.