South Asia

David Saperstein, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, spoke on Monday, November 14^th at the Harvard Kennedy School on “U.S. Efforts to Promote Religious Freedom Abroad.” In a wide-ranging discussion moderated by Future of Diplomacy Project Executive Director Cathryn Clüver, the diplomat and rabbi explained the importance of religion and human rights as part of an integrated approach to foreign policy.

Dr. Ian Bremmer, expert in political risk and founder of the Eurasia Group, gave a seminar sponsored by the the Future of Diplomacy Project on Thursday, November 9 at the Harvard Kennedy School, titled “Managing Risk in an Unstable World."

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced earlier this month that he has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint session of Congress on June 8. This will be the Indian leader’s fourth trip to the United States in two years. Although the invitation is a potent reminder of the robust ties between the Washington and New Delhi, its real significance lies elsewhere: it is the final step in Prime Minister Modi’s political rehabilitation in the United States.

On April 28, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, examined India’s evolving role in multilateral institutions in a public speech that concluded the Future of Diplomacy Project’s annual 2016 South Asia Week titled “India’s Increasing Role in Multilateral Relations and its Global Interests.” Executive Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project and the India and South Asia Program, Cathryn Clüver, moderated the event at the Center for Government and International Studies.

In this installment of “Conversations in Diplomacy," the Future of Diplomacy Project's Executive Director, Cathryn Clüver, speaks with Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin,India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

As part of the India and South Asia Program’s annual speaker series, Ambassador MaleehaLodhi, the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United Nations discussed her country’s regional agenda.

Maleeha Lodhi,   In this installment of “Conversations in Diplomacy," the Future of Diplomacy Project's Executive Director, Cathryn Clüver, speaks with Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

The link between Bollywood and Indian organized crime is as old as India itself, writes author Ronak Desai. The film industry’s intimate relationship with the Indian underworld is considered one of the country’s worst kept secrets whose origins can be traced to a government regulation that rendered the cinema industry ineligible for legitimate forms of financing.

Farah Pandith, a Senior Fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Project, provides her answer to the question "What should the U.S. do about ISIS?" in this piece for National Journal.

Regarding the ongoing controversy around Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, Ronak Desai writes, "dire predictions regarding the future of U.S.-India relations appear exaggerated and inconsistent with the history of the strategic partnership."