A Roadmap For India-US Military AI Collaboration
India and the United States have a multifaceted defense partnership that entails significant trade and large-scale joint military exercises. There is also a growing consensus that collaboration on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can promote common security interests. In…
South Asia’s Climate Crisis Beckons A Gender-Balanced Policy Approach
South Asia’s vast human potential and geostrategic location have made it increasingly lucrative for international engagement. Nevertheless, deep-rooted mistrust and bilateral tensions between South Asian countries have kept the region from leveraging its potential. Over the last decade, climate change…
Tamil Nadu’s Effect on India-Sri Lanka Subnational Diplomacy
Bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and India can be traced back centuries with the Mahavamsa and Deepavamsa chronicles detailing Prince Vijaya’s arrival in Sri Lanka after banishment from India, invasions by South Indian kingdoms, and the arrival of Buddhism in…
Assessing Pakistan’s Nuclear Security Upgrades after ratification of the 2005 CPPNM Amendment
The Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), adopted in 1987, is the primary legal instrument that forms the basis of global nuclear security regime. The CPPNM along with its amendment that entered into force in 2016, are…
Can India Address the Growing Cybersecurity Challenges in the Nuclear Domain?
Across the world, cybersecurity architecture is becoming more complex and increasingly requiring advanced safety mechanisms to protect against system vulnerabilities and potential crises. Cyber threats are one of the greatest challenges in terms of security. This is particularly crucial in…
Balancing Nepal’s Foreign Policy and Domestic Agenda Under the Deuba Government
It has been nearly three months since the President of the Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba became Nepal’s prime minister for the fifth time, replacing the Chair of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), K.P. Sharma Oli. Deuba has become…
The Case For Resuming India-Pakistan Cricket
When my generation of cricket fans—growing up after the turn of the century—look back on the India-Pakistan cricketing rivalry, there is almost nothing to go by: just one bilateral series in thirteen years and a handful of tournament games. Despite…
The PSGP: A Turning Point for Pakistan and Russia?
At the start of the summer, Pakistan and Russia signed an intergovernmental agreement for the implementation of the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline Project (PSGP). The pipeline—set to the most substantial economic engagement project between Pakistan and Russia since the 1970s—also…
Bhutan’s Coming Border Crisis with China
In early April 2021, the 10th Expert Group Meeting, a joint Sino-Bhutanese delegation which includes Bhutan’s Ambassador to India, Major General Vetsop Namgyel, met in Kunming, China. Their goal: to lay the groundwork for the 25th round of negotiations later…
Subnational Diplomacy in South Asia
In a world shaped by ties that traverse borders and countries increasingly facing transnational security issues, subnational diplomacy explores how political dynamics and relationships are shaped beyond capital cities. In this South Asian Voices and 9DashLine joint series, contributors examine how countries across South…
Challenges to Subnational Diplomacy: The Tangled Roots of Punjab
Since the partition of Punjab—a consequence of the wider India-Pakistan partition in 1947—the “Land of Five Waters” has been the focal point of a war-inducing water dispute and widespread bloodshed. Conservative estimates put the death toll within Punjab during the…
Russia & Post-US Withdrawal Afghanistan
With the U.S. withdrawal from the region, Russian experts have been engaging with Afghanistan’s changing realities with greater intensity, frequency, and candor. The efforts to align their position reflect a departure from past reticence towards involvement in the country after…
The Missing “Gender” in Foreign Policy
It is almost universally recognized that promoting the empowerment of women and girls leads to improved governance, economic growth, better human development indicators, and overall stability in any country. Further, for the past decade, a growing body of academic research…
Feminist Foreign Policy and Nuclear Security in India
The Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) approach has been the first major institutional step in the pursuit of gender inclusivity in policy since the adoption of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda by the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR)…
The Political Role of Sufi Mystics in Afghanistan
Since the Taliban swiftly took Kabul in August, Afghans and Afghanistan watchers have been grappling with what the shape and nature of the new government will be and how it will replace the former republic. There is little hope left…
From Gender to Geopolitics: Towards a Feminist Foreign Policy in South Asia
In this South Asian Voices webinar, run jointly with the Kubernein Initiative, experts from across the subcontinent will examine what a “Feminist Foreign Policy” framework means for the subcontinent and how this approach could make policymaking related to defense, geopolitics, trade, health, and the…
Bhutan and Northeast India: Subnational Diplomacy Possibilities
The growing strength of India and Bhutan’s relationship over time has been commended as a model for enduring goodwill between the neighboring states—with state-to-state diplomacy between Thimphu and New Delhi showcased as the success story of friendship. However, despite the…
SAV Q&A: Ismail Khan on Afghanistan, the Taliban, and the TTP
On September 6th, 2021, Pakistani senior journalist and current Editor at Dawn in Peshawar Ismail Khan spoke with SAV Managing Editor Brigitta Schuchert on issues related to Pakistan's role in Afghanistan after the Taliban's recent takeover of the government, militancy…
The Rohingya Exodus: South Asia’s Predicament
Since the mid-1900s, periodic outbreaks of hostility and violence have led large numbers of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to seek safety in neighboring countries. In August 2017, violence broke out as the Myanmar army launched an offensive against the Rohingya…
Turkey and the Taliban: Past Tensions and Future Trajectories
On Friday, Turkey’s President Erdogan announced that Turkey had held its first talks with the Taliban in Kabul, with subsequent reports noting that Turkey and the Taliban were drafting a deal where Turkey and Qatar would operate the Kabul airport…
Reflections from Afghanistan
Editor's Note: Afghanistan is experiencing a critical juncture in its history. The United States has withdrawn from their longest-ever war, the government has withered away, and the Taliban have taken control of most of the country, including Kabul. Tired of…
India and Sri Lanka: Subnational Diplomacy Dynamics
Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Jayanath Colombage has described India as “part of the family,” and suggested that, like siblings, the two share many similarities and occasional disagreements. However, the current state of ties is complicated, especially given Sri Lanka’s increasingly…
States in Action: Federalism and Foreign Policy in India
In 2012, the Italian defense minister met the chief minister of the Indian state of Kerala requesting him to allow the trial of two Italian marines in Rome who were allegedly caught killing fishermen from Kerala in Indian waters. Kerala…
India’s New Consulates and Subnational Diplomacy in South Asia
Following the Taliban’s sudden takeover in Afghanistan in August, India closed its five diplomatic missions in the country. However, this was a rare exception to India’s recent trend of expanding its diplomatic network in South Asia. Our ongoing research finds…
Looking in the Rearview Mirror* of the Afghanistan War
*The author debated whether mirror or window was best and decided mirror since it requires self-reflection. The reviews, recriminations, and accusations on the U.S. role in Afghanistan have already begun. Many will likely focus on the last year or two…
The Islamic State Khorasan Province: An Enduring Threat
The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) terrorist group continues to make headlines in Afghanistan as the United States completes its withdrawal from the country. On August 26, ISKP carried out a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed around…
Nepal and a Feminist Foreign Policy
In July 2021, Ratnanagar Municipality in Bagmati Pradesh enacted a policy that banned women with children under the age of two from going abroad for foreign employment. The local representatives reasoned that children were deprived of maternal care when mothers…
The Limits of Leverage in Taliban-Led Afghanistan
Editor's Note: This piece article was originally published on Lawfare, and has been republished on South Asian Voices with the permission of the editors. As the United States withdraws from Afghanistan and ends its longest war, Afghan citizens are bearing…
Hazaras in Afghanistan Face Genocide post-U.S. Withdrawal
In May 2021, three explosions at Sayed-ul Shuhada high school, located in a mainly Hazara neighborhood west of Kabul, rocked the city, killing nearly 100 students and wounding 150 others, overwhelmingly teenage girls under 18. The attack was followed by…
India’s Quest for Image Management Through International Broadcasting
India’s state-owned broadcaster, Doordarshan, is set to embark on a global expansion with a new Doordarshan International broadcasting channel, as per a recent Expression of Interest (EoI) by Prasar Bharati, India’s Public Service Broadcaster. The government is inviting project report…
Reflections from Afghanistan
Watch the SAV Webinar: From Gender to Geopolitics
In this South Asian Voices webinar, run jointly with the Kubernein Initiative, experts from across the subcontinent examine what a “Feminist Foreign Policy” framework means for the subcontinent and how this approach could make policymaking related to defense, geopolitics, trade, health, and the environment in South Asia more inclusive and effective.
Watch the WebinarMost Recent
Defense & Security A Roadmap For India-US Military AI Collaboration
India and the United States have a multifaceted defense partnership…
Economy & Development South Asia’s Climate Crisis Beckons A Gender-Balanced Policy Approach
South Asia’s vast human potential and geostrategic location have made…
Geopolitics & Diplomacy Tamil Nadu’s Effect on India-Sri Lanka Subnational Diplomacy
Bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and India can be traced…
Hindi & Urdu دولت اسلامیہ خراسان: ایک مسلسل خطرہ
دہشت گرد تنظیم دولت اسلامیہ خراسان (آئی ایس کے پی)…
Nuclear Issues Assessing Pakistan’s Nuclear Security Upgrades after ratification of the 2005 CPPNM Amendment
The Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM),…
Geopolitics & Diplomacy Balancing Nepal’s Foreign Policy and Domestic Agenda Under the Deuba Government
It has been nearly three months since the President of…
Nuclear Issues Can India Address the Growing Cybersecurity Challenges in the Nuclear Domain?
Across the world, cybersecurity architecture is becoming more complex and…
Hindi & Urdu ایس اے وی سوال و جواب: افغانستان، طالبان اور ٹی ٹی پی پر اسماعیل خان کے خیالات
۶ ستمبر ۲۰۲۱ کو پاکستان کے سینیر صحافی اور ڈان…