Democratization, Conflict and ‘Act East’ Policy:
Challenges to Mediate Non-State Actors of Northeast India in Southeast Asia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/arv.2023.7Keywords:
Action-oriented, alternative administration, democratic mechanism, Southeast AsiaAbstract
Non-state actor in Northeast India is a pre-independence phenomenon, and with the exception of Assam, the seed of institutionalizing violence was sown prior to the formation of the states. In course of time non-state actor has turned into non-state armed actor. Experience has proved that the formation of states as the process of democratization is yet to soothe the conflict in the region. With this salient reality, “Act East” seen as a path-breaking policy with a multi-prong strategy aiming to overhaul the image of the Northeast through rebuilding India’s historical ties with Southeast Asia, needs to embed a viable action-oriented democratic mechanism to mitigate the conflict. This paper aims to address how an ambitious approach to “Act East” is crafting a conducive milieu to alleviate the issue of the non-state armed actors in the region.
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