The Himalaya as an International Region

Abstract

This chapter provides the necessary background on the Himalaya to contextualise the region’s geopolitics, laying the groundwork for subsequent case studies. I argue that the Himalaya is a distinctive international region, which demonstrates the connections between geopolitics, cultures and ecologies. I also develop the argument that to understand the region, IR scholarship is insufficient. Rather, the central drama that the region faces requires understanding the combined ecological, cultural and political transformation of the region. I first survey the geopolitics of the Himalaya, and examine the broader picture of state-making history in the region, how its states came into being and how the region has been transformed ecologically through this process. I then look at the muted influence of international organisations in the region, with some notable exceptions. In particular, I look at the creation and influence of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. Although this institution has received very little attention in IR scholarship, I argue it is a novel form of intergovernmental organisation with some important successes in the region. I then look at the ecologies of the Himalaya, looking at the environmental challenges the region faces. Finally, I look at how the region’s languages and cultures have been and are being transformed by this process. Taken together, this reveals to us the geopolitical and ecological entanglements taking place today in the region.