ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief overview of the main issues which have been identified as ‘security’ threats by a variety of actors (state or non-state) in South Asia, and their perceived impacts on different groups.1 Many of these challenges have been met by public policy responses at the national and regional levels, primarily addressing the security concerns of states, while the insecurities of sub-state groups have often been sidelined. In other cases, the absence of adequate policy measures has seen the emergence of non-state actors (NSAs) such as Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society groups and epistemic communities as key actors involved in tackling these challenges at the sub-state level. In providing an overview of these issues, this chapter also aims to develop a broad understanding of the interconnected and complex nature of challenges in South Asia, and how they may relate to the insecurities of different groups in the region.2
