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This study is a critical investigation into the category of tribes in South Asia. It breaks away from previous studies of tribes in the region. While it focuses on one so-called tribal community, the Garos of Bangladesh, it neither studies Garo culture as such, nor their social organization. Instead it deals with the evolution of Garo identity/ethnicity and with the progressive making of cultural characteristics that support a sense of "e;Garo-ness"e;, in the context of the complex historical developments in this part of South Asia and the world. The importance of this work is not confined to a better understanding of how smaller ethnic groups form, survive or disappear in modern society. It also leads to a more comprehensive insight into how social life in the border region of South and Southeast Asia is organized and how it has transformed over time. This book will be of interest to historians, anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, students, scholars of South and Southeast Asia and policy-makers.

A pioneering contribution to the emergent anthropology of human security that brings classic concerns of the field into the 21st century

Our experiences of the city are dependent on our gender, race, class, age, ability, and sexual orientation. It was already clear before the pandemic that cities around the world were divided and becoming increasingly unequal. The pandemic has torn back the curtain on many of these pre-existing inequalities. Contributions to this volume engage directly with different urban communities around the world. They give voice to those who experience poverty, discrimination and marginalisation in order to put them in the front and center of planning, policy, and political debates that make and shape cities. Offering crucial insights for reforming cities to be more resilient to future crises, this is an invaluable resource for scholars and policy makers alike.

The seventeenth-century French diplomat François de Callières once wrote that "an ambassador resembles in some way an actor exposed on the stage to the eyes of the public in order to play great roles." The comparison of the diplomat to an actor became commonplace as the practice of diplomacy took hold in early modern Europe. More than an abstract metaphor, it reflected the rich culture of spectacular entertainment that was a backdrop to emissaries' day-to-day lives. Royal courts routinely honored visiting diplomats or celebrated treaty negotiations by staging grandiose performances incorporating dance, music, theater, poetry, and pageantry. These entertainments—allegorical ballets, masquerade balls, chivalric tournaments, operas, and comedies—often addressed pertinent themes such as war, peace, and international unity in their subject matter. In both practice and content, the extravagant exhibitions were fully intertwined with the culture of diplomacy. But exactly what kind of diplomatic work did these spectacles perform? Ellen R. Welch contends that the theatrical and performing arts had a profound influence on the development of modern diplomatic practices in early modern Europe. Using France as a case study, Welch explores the interconnected histories of international relations and the theatrical and performing arts. Her book argues that theater served not merely as a decorative accompaniment to negotiations, but rather underpinned the practices of embodied representation, performance, and spectatorship that constituted the culture of diplomacy in this period. Through its examination of the early modern precursors to today's cultural diplomacy initiatives, her book investigates the various ways in which performance structures international politics still.