South Asian Voices (SAV)-Analysis from the Subcontinent

A Publication of the Stimson Center.

Politics over the Pandemic: An Uphill Battle in Nepal

Over the past year, and more so in recent months, Nepal's ongoing political disorder has put the pandemic and response to natural disasters—including landslides and forest fires—on the backburner. The state government and political leaders have continued to prioritize political…

Written by Tanushree Thapa, Simone Rawal

Strategic Stability & Restraint in South Asia

The interplay of global power competition and nuclear weapon states sharing disputed borders continue to make South Asia one of the most volatile regions in the world today. February 2021 marked two years since the 2019 India-Pakistan Pulwama-Balakot crisis, as…

Written by Brig. Imran Hassan

India at the UNSC: The First Six Months

Since the early 1990s, India has made its ambition to hold a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) abundantly clear. Over time, New Delhi has worked aggressively towards this end. While the international community builds consensus over UNSC reforms through the…

Written by Chirayu Thakkar

Sealing the Durand Line Undercuts Pakistan’s Support for Democracy in Afghanistan

As the U.S.-withdrawal from Afghanistan is expected much earlier than the September 11 deadline, Pakistan has been actively publicizing its fears about a “protracted civil war” ensuing in a post US-withdrawal Afghanistan. In a June interview with the New York…

Written by Fizza Batool

CPEC & Environmental Sustainability

Despite a recent political emphasis on the impact of climate change in the country, Pakistan’s environmental crisis is worsening. A marked increase in carbon emissions due to extensive use of fossil fuels to produce energy and air pollution has further…

Written by Hina Aslam

Geopolitics & Connectivity in South Asia

Across South Asia and beyond, international connectivity projects from ports to railways promise to bolster geopolitical relations, bring economic growth, and enhance people-to-people ties. In this South Asian Voices series, Sumitha Narayanan Kutty, Ayesha A. Malik, Soraya Parwani, and Nvard…

Written by SAV editorial staff

The Politicization of Social Media in India

The 2014 general elections—regarded as the “First Social Media Election” in India's political history—kickstarted a social media revolution in Indian politics. Before the 2009 general elections, Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP who had previously served as UN Under-Secretary-General, was the…

Written by Jelvin Jose

Losing the Narrative War in Afghanistan

With the U.S. withdrawal and rapid advances by the Taliban, the intensity of the Afghanistan conflict has reached unprecedented levels. In such escalated crises, society is polarized to an extent where pointing out government failures or any criticism of government…

Written by Obaidullah Baheer

India, Turkey, and the Project of National Erosion

The strongman at the helm of the now partial democracy is elected to office as an outsider. He claims he will help his country mend ties with the West, liberalize, fight the corruption that has befallen the dynastic, elite party…

Written by Sunaina Danziger

Russia’s Growing Outreach to Pakistan: Should India be Concerned?

“Today Pakistan is an important foreign policy partner of our country. The cooperation between Moscow and Islamabad is based on the coincidence or similarity of positions on most of the problems facing the world community, including issues of strategic stability…

Written by Rajorshi Roy

Iran’s Chabahar Port: Betting Big on Eurasian Connectivity

Five years have passed since the Chabahar port in Iran was promised a new lease of life with both the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal in 2016 and an assurance of investments from India. Chabahar is operational today but remains quite a…

Written by Sumitha Narayanan Kutty

Geopolitics of the North-South Transport Corridor

As global trade is revitalizing in the post-COVID-19 world, with prices to ship containers from Asia to Europe skyrocketing and global logistics searching for alternative routes amid supply chain bottlenecks like the recent Suez Canal blockage, connectivity projects are gaining…

Written by Nvard Chalikyan, Yeghia Tashjian

Prospects for India-France-Japan Trilateral Cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean

As France accepted the rotating annual presidency of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) during the 35th Council of Ministers meeting on May 20, French Secretary of State Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne highlighted an agenda that revolved around a “realistic ambition, adapted to the region and…

Written by Don McLain Gill

Gwadar Port: Global Visions & Local Realities

Situated on the shores of the Arabian Sea, Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan Province has long been touted as a potential hub for regional connectivity that would play an active role in the geopolitics of South Asia. A flagship…

Written by Ayesha A. Malik

Assessing the Proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority

Press freedom in Pakistan is under increasing threat. In May 2021, a proposed ordinance to develop a centralized media regulatory authority, named Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), made rounds on social media. Human rights activists and journalists in Pakistan created…

Written by Fizza Batool

Media Bias and Democracy in India

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages out of control in India, many are rightly focusing on the content of stories on the death toll and months of lockdown. The lack of journalistic integrity behind some of the stories deepens this grim…

Written by Janani Mohan

SAV Series: Geopolitics & Connectivity in South Asia

In this South Asian Voices series, Sumitha Narayanan Kutty, Ayesha A. Malik, Soraya Parwani, and Nvard Chalikyan and Yeghia Tashjian discuss four core connectivity projects across South and Central Asia: Chabahar Port, Gwadar Port, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

Read the series