Category Archives: Announcements
Call for Applications: Global Nuclear Politics and Strategy – Residential Workshop for Young Scholars
Call for Applications
Global Nuclear Politics and Strategy
Fifth Annual Residential Workshop for Young Scholars
May 4-7, 2015 | NIAS, Bangalore
Jointly Organised by
Institute of Peace of Conflict Studies (IPCS), New Delhi
and
National Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore
Decommissioned Titan Missile (Copyright: jonkeegan via Flickr)
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
The Annual IPCS Residential Young Scholars’ Workshops have been organised since 2008 with both national and international participation. The fifth edition of the workshop will be held in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Studies at their campus in Bangalore in the first week of May this year.
The primary objective of the IPCS is capacity-building in the next generation. This is in keeping with the chief purpose of the Institute’s nuclear workshop – towards familiarising the younger scholars with major strategic debates. To this end, the IPCS actively engages with the academic and strategic community in India.
President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev Copyright: Liberty Bacon
The format of these workshops consists of a series of lectures, group discussions, presentations, simulation gaming exercises, and film screenings. They include deliberations on an array of topics like the science of nuclear weapons, warheads and missile systems, evolution of global nuclear capability, role of nuclear weapons in national security strategies, nuclear dynamics in Southern Asia, nuclear safety and security, nuclear terrorism, non-proliferation and export control regimes, case study of the Cuban Missile Crisis, civil nuclear renaissance and moves towards global nuclear disarmament.
The workshop will be conducted over a period of 4 days (May 4-7, 2015). The Workshop will end with paper presentations by the participants on issues discussed during the Workshop. IPCS and NIAS will provide for the participants’ travel within India and accommodation in Bangalore (at the NIAS Guest House, on a twin-sharing basis) for the duration of the workshop.
Since 2013, the IPCS nuclear workshops have been held in other parts of India to achieve outreach outside New Delhi. During these workshops, IPCS has drawn on the expertise of a wide range of eminent scholars and strategists, some of whom are listed below:
| Amb Arundhati Ghose | Mr Raj Chengappa |
| Amb KC Singh | Prof Amitabh Mattoo |
| Amb Salman Haidar | Prof PR Chari |
| Dr Ajey Lele | Prof R Rajaraman |
| Dr LV Krishnan | Prof. Rajaram Nagappa |
| Dr Manpreet Sethi | Prof Rajesh Rajgopalan |
| Dr Venkatesh Verma | Prof Swaran Singh |
| Gen VP Malik | Rear Adm Raja Menon |
| Maj Gen Dipankar Banerjee | Vice Adm Vijay Shankar |
ELIGIBILITY
Junior faculty members at universities, researchers working with think-tanks, journalists, M.Phil and Ph.D research scholars, young officers from scientific departments and the defence services. Preference will be given to first time participants.
To apply, please send us the following documents attached as a single PDF file (Font Arial, Size 10):
- Curriculum Vitae of not more than 2 pages. In it, please specify your contact details.
- Statement of Purpose of not more than 1 page
- Writing Sample of not more than 1 page on a topic relevant to the workshop.
The deadline for applications is Friday, 27 March 2015.
The applications must be sent by email only, to <nukeworkshop2015[at]gmail[dot]com>
For the announcement in PDF click here
The New World Order and Wars in the 21st Century
The International Strategic and Security Studies Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies invites you to a Lecture by Prof. Subrata Ghoshroy, Research Associate in the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
The New World Order and Wars in the 21st Century
Prof. Subrata Ghoshroy, Research Associate,
Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
chaired by
Prof. Rajaram Nagappa, Head, ISSSP
on
Monday, February 16, 2015 | 3:30 PM
at the
Conference Hall 2, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore – 560012
Abstract
As the curtain came down on the twentieth century, there was a sense of great optimism that the new century would bring peace and security in the world since the Cold War was over. A decade on, the hopes for a new millennium of peace and prosperity have begun to fade. The first decade has already witnessed unleashing of an unprecedented military might on defenseless people in countries like the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Hundreds of thousands civilians have been killed and millions more rendered homeless in these wars. A new kind of war is being waged with unmanned aircraft called drones with names such as Predator or Reaper, which can attack a target with hellish Hellfire missiles. The “pilots,” who don’t fly, pull the trigger sitting in the comfort of air-conditioned command posts thousands of miles away. Instead of the much heralded “peace dividend,” military spending worldwide continued to rise and crossed the hitherto inconceivable trillion-dollar mark with the U.S. accounting for more than half. It is at this juncture I speak about the new world order and the wars of the 21stcentury.
About the Speaker
Subrata Ghoshroy is a Research Associate in the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. His current research interests are global security with particular reference to South Asia, nuclear weapons proliferation, and disarmament. Mr. Ghoshroy is also keenly interested in science and technology policy and has written extensively on military R&D policy. Previously he was a Senior Defense Analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and served in the U.S. Congress as a professional staff member and as a Science Fellow. Mr. Ghoshroy also spent a year as a Senior Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University. He was trained as an electrical engineer and spent two decades in defense research and development programs for high-power lasers. Mr. Ghoshroy’s publications in the last decade have focused on missile defense, nuclear weapons and space security policy. He is an Adjunct Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bangalore. He holds two Master’s degrees, respectively, in electrical engineering and in public policy. Mr. Ghoshroy was born and raised in India and has lived in the U.S. for the last forty years.
Pakistan’s Nuclear Developments and India’s Strategy and Doctrine
The International Strategic and Security Studies Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies invites you to a Lecture by Dr Neil Joeck, Visiting Scholar, Institute of International Studies, University of California Berkeley.
Pakistan’s Nuclear Developments and India’s Strategy and Doctrine
Dr Neil Joeck, Visiting Scholar, Institute of International Studies,
University of California Berkeley
chaired by
Prof. Rajaram Nagappa, Head, ISSSP
on
Wednesday, September 10, 2014 | 4 PM
at the
Conference Hall 2, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore – 560012
Abstract
War is still possible between India and Pakistan and runs the risk of crossing the nuclear threshold, despite the fact that past Indo-Pakistani wars have been limited. Cold War models of limited nuclear war may not help to anticipate how such a conflict may erupt. Pakistan’s development of tactical nuclear weapons may deter war but may also be used to deny victory. India’s nuclear policies and doctrine may need to be re-evaluated in light of Pakistan’s strategy.
About the Speaker
Neil Joeck is a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for International Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He was the National Intelligence Officer for South Asia in the Office of the Director for National Intelligence from 2009 to 2011, in which capacity he provided intelligence support to the White House on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. He also served from 2004 to 2005 as Director for Counter Proliferation Strategy at the National Security Council, where he was responsible for India and Pakistan proliferation issues, the Bush-Putin Bratislava summit, the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference, and Department of Homeland Security and multilateral regime (CWC, BWC, MTCR) issues. From 2001-2003, he was a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State, where he was responsible for the India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and nuclear proliferation portfolios. He received the Meritorious Honor Award for his work on Afghanistan followingSeptember 11. Dr. Joeck completed his assignments with the US Government while employed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) from 1987 to 2013.
Dr. Joeck received a Ph.D. and MA in political science from UCLA (1986), an MA from the Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Canada (1976), and a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz (1973). He taught at UCLA (1985-86), the Chinese Academy of Social Science (1987), and UC Berkeley (2004, 2006-7). In addition to classified reports for the US government, his publications include Maintaining Nuclear Stability in South Asia, Adelphi Paper #312 (Oxford University Press, 1997) and two edited books: Arms Control and International Security (with Roman Kolkowicz, Westview Press, 1984) and Strategic Consequences of Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia (Frank Cass, 1986). He has contributed articles to Comparative Strategy, Journal of Strategic Studies,International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Energy and Technology Reviewand numerous chapters to edited books. His most recent article is “Prospects for Limited War and Nuclear Use in South Asia” in Michael Krepon, ed. Deterrence Stability and Escalation Control in South Asia (The Stimson Center, 2013).
India-Pakistan Relations & The way ahead
International Strategic and Security Studies Programme (ISSSP), National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore invites you to a Public Lecture by Ambassador Husain Haqqani, Former Pakistani Ambassador to United States (2008-2011).
India-Pakistan Relations & The way ahead
Public Lecture by
Ambassador Husain Haqqani
Director (South & Central Asia) Hudson Institute and
Former Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US
chaired by
Professor Rajaram Nagappa
Head, International Strategic and Security Studies Programme, NIAS
on
Thursday, July 31, 2014 | 6 pm
at the
J R D Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore – 560012
(Coffee/Tea : 5.30 pm)
About the Speaker
Husain Haqqani served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States from 2008-2011 and is widely credited with managing a difficult partnership during a critical phase in the global war on terrorism. He is currently Director for South and Central Asia at Hudson Institute in Washington DC and Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Boston University. He has been a journalist, academic and diplomat in addition to serving as advisor to four Pakistani Prime Ministers, including the late Benazir Bhutto.
Ambassador Haqqani’s 2005 book Pakistan Between Mosque and Military was acclaimed for explaining the roots of Pakistan’s foreign and domestic policies.His latest book Magnificent Delusions: US, Pakistan and the Global Jihad which came out in November 2013 has been described as “timely, valuable and objective” by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
The Geostrategic Significance of the Arab Spring
The International Strategic and Security Studies Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies invites you to a Public Lecture by Professor Professor Mohammed Ayoob, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University.
The Geostrategic Significance of the Arab Spring
Professor Mohammed Ayoob
University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University
chaired by
Ambassador Saurabh Kumar, Adjunct Faculty, NIAS
on
Monday, February 10, 2014 | 6 PM
at the
Lecture Hall, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore – 560012
(Coffee/Tea : 5.30 pm)
Abstract
The unfolding drama of the Arab Spring has demonstrated that it was not as autonomous a process as it appeared at first sight – that it was not merely a struggle between the forces of democratization and authoritarianism, the good guys and the bad guys. More often than not external powers, both regional and extra-regional, determined the outcomes of these uprisings to a much greater degree than did the local forces: Yemen (Saudi Arabia and the US), Libya (NATO), Bahrain (Saudi Arabia), even Egypt (US, Saudi Arabia, Israel) demonstrate the veracity of this proposition. This has become clear above all in Syria with the US, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, supporting the opposition and Iran and Russia supporting the regime. The Saudi-Iranian, US-Iranian, and US-Russian proxy wars are in full swing in Syria making the conflict intractable. Consequently, what started as domestic processes of democratic transformation in many of the countries have become hostage to multiple proxy wars going on in the Middle East – between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the US and Iran, Russia and the US. The ironies of these proxy wars are not lost on keen observers of the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia leading the counter-revolutionary brigade when it comes to Bahrain and Egypt but supporting the “democratic” opposition in Syria. External powers support to one side or the other has far less to do with supporting democracy and much more to do with their own strategic objectives in the region.
About the Speaker
Mohammed Ayoob is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University. He is the author or editor of 15 books and approximately 100 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed publications. His most recent books include The Many Faces of Political Islam (University of Michigan Press, 2008), Assessing the War on Terror (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2013) and Will the Middle East Implode? (Polity Press, 2014). His commentaries on current affairs have appeared in The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Yaleglobal, and CNN, among other places.
Pivot or Pirouette: The U.S. Rebalance to Asia
International Strategic and Security Studies Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies invites you to a Public Lecture by Professor Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC.
Pivot or Pirouette: The U.S. Rebalance to Asia
Dr. Ashley J. Tellis, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
chaired by
Prof. S. Chandrashekar, J R D Tata Visiting Professor
on
Friday, January 3, 2014 | 5 pm
at the
J R D Tata Auditorium, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore – 560012
(Coffee/Tea : 4.30 pm)
Abstract
The Obama administration’s “rebalance” to Asia has received widespread attention globally. In Europe, the rebalance has evoked fears that the United States might be abandoning old allies in light of the need to cope with new challenges elsewhere. In Asia, the rebalance has evoked mixed reviews: in China, it is viewed as a subtle form of containment whereas in other parts of Asia, it has been welcomed more fulsomely, even when many capitals have doubts about its effectiveness. So what is the rebalance anyway? This presentation will focus on understanding the genesis of the rebalancing policy, its specific objectives and its multiple dimensions, and its requirements for success. It will assess whether the rebalance to Asia can in fact resolve the fundamental challenges facing the United States and its allies in the region.
About the Speaker
Ashley J. Tellis is Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, specializing in international security, defense, and Asian strategic issues. While on assignment to the US Department of State as Senior Adviser to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, he was intimately involved in negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India. Previously he was commissioned into the Foreign Service and served as Senior Adviser to the Ambassador at the US Embassy in New Delhi. He also served on the National Security Council staff as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and Southwest Asia. Prior to his government service, Tellis was Senior Policy Analyst at the RAND Corporation and Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND Graduate School. He is the author of India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture (2001) and co-author of Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy: Past, Present, and Future (2000). He is the Research Director of the Strategic Asia program at NBR and co-editor of the ten most recent annual volumes, including this year’s Strategic Asia 2013–14: Asia in the Second Nuclear Age. In addition to numerous Carnegie and RAND reports, his academic publications have appeared in many edited volumes and journals. He earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago.
