Bundesheer

Wolfgang-Peter Zingel

Since 1971, Wolfgang-Peter Zingel has spent his academic life at the South Asia Institute (SAI) of the Department of International Economics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Having obtained a Master’s degree in Economics (Diplom Volkswirt) and a PhD (Dr. rer. pol.) he has mainly focused on the economic, social, and political development of all South Asian states. An initial project of programming foreign aid for Pakistan revealed the interdependencies between economic policy, social setting, and the political and military environment. Pakistan became a famous textbook case, demonstrating that neglecting social and regional aspects for the sake of economic growth and national unity can result in severe tension, civil war, and the breaking apart of a country. Permanently strained relations with neighbouring countries resulted in temptations of trans-border intervention and a costly arms race. The country is now faced with the double asymmetry of "low” intensity warfare on the Afghan and Kashmir borders and the threat of a nuclear war with a much more powerful India. Having spent more than six years in the region, representing the SAI in Pakistan (1980-82) and in India (1990-92) as well as teaching at Himachal University in Shimla (1989) and working with South Asian colleagues on various projects plus travelling extensively throughout South Asia helped Zingel understand strongly diverging positions. His numerous publications, among others, on over-arming, military and development, and risk assessment mainly focus on economic, ecological, social, and political aspects.