Introduction

This book provides a detailed account of the structure and political strategies of the Tibetan government-in exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), in northern India. Since its founding in 1959, it has been led by the 14th Dalai Lama who struggles to regain the Tibetan homeland. Based on a theoretical approach on exile organizations – and extensive empirical studies in Asia – this book discusses CTA’s political strategies to gain national loyalty, and international support, in order to secure its own organizational survival and the ultimate goal: the return to Tibet.

Research Questions and Structure

The book is organized around the two fundamental questions: firstly, how the CTA fosters its claims to be the sole representative of all Tibetans over the last decades in exile; and, secondly, which policies have been carried out in order to regain the homeland. The book is divided into four substantial chapters:

• The historical background, providing a review of pre-1959 political Tibet
• A theoretical section which covers the critical position of exile organizations
• An examination of the exile Tibetan community and government from the early years
• An analysis of crucial CTA policies

Conclusion

Innovative and unique, this book combines a political science approach with Tibetan studies to analyse exile-Tibetan politics in particular, and exile governments in general.