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CIPOD organises a talk by Constantino Xavier
Event Details
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, ORGANIZATION AND DISARMAMENT
Cordially invites you to
A Talk on
Continuity, Change and Challenges for India’s Neighbourhood Policy
Speaker:
Constantino Xavier(Research Fellow, Brookings India)
Wednesday, 20 February 2019
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Room No. 349, School of International Studies (SIS – II)
Abstract
Long-forgotten or neglected, India’s neighbourhood has recently gained new salience in Indian strategic thinking and practice. Courtesy China, South Asia’s strategic context is undergoing rapid transformation, with intersecting dynamics of security, connectivity and democracy. This talk focuses on how this is affecting India’s regional strategy and the role of democracy in its foreign policy. I will share some of the findings of my doctoral research, which examines Indian responses to different crises in the three neighboring countries of Nepal, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and Myanmar (Burma), across three time periods (1950s-60s, 1980s, 2000s). By reconstructing policy debates in the government, based on newly declassified materials and interviews with decision-makers, the case studies demonstrate an Indian strategic culture of regional interventionism that balances values and interests.
Constantino Xavier is a Research Fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings India in New Delhi. He researches on India’s foreign and security policies as a regional power, with a focus on institutions and decision-making processes, and also on relations with Europe. He is currently writing a book on India’s crisis response and involvement in neighboring countries (Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar), and also examining the challenges of security, connectivity and democracy across the South Asian and Indian Ocean regions. Xavier’s research also focuses on how India’s democratic values and institutions influence its external engagements and its relations with other democratic powers. Previously, he worked at the Brookings Institution, in Washington DC, as a media correspondent in South Asia, and as an adviser to the Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi during the presidency of the European Union. He held fellowships at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and the Observer Research Foundation, in New Delhi, and received research awards from the United States Fulbright program and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Xavier holds a Ph.D. in South Asian studies from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies and an M.Phil. and M.A. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, School of International Studies.