What does the recent landslide victory by the pro-business Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi mean for the future of Indian Foreign Policy? This PRIO roundtable brings together three South Asia specialists who will reflect upon their experiences to help us better understand how May's historic election victory for the BJP will influence India's foreign policy priorities - from its local bilateral relationships to its global emerging power status.
Professor Stephen P. Cohen is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (Washington DC) after serving as professor of political science and history at the University of Illinois. In 2004, he was named by the World Affairs Councils of America as one of America's 500 most influential people in the area of foreign policy and was a member of the Policy Planning Staff (Department of State) from 1985-1987 . Dr. Cohen is the author, co-author or editor of several books focusing on South Asian security issues, most recently Shooting for a Century: The India-Pakistan Conundrum.
Saira Basit is a research fellow in India's security policy and strategic behavior at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS). Her most recent work is India's Grand Strategy: History, Theory, Cases, co-edited with Kanti Bajpai and V. Krishnappa.
Kenneth Bo Nielsen is a Social Anthropologist and Researcher at the Center for Development and the Environment (SUM) at the University of Oslo. He has recently co-edited the books Women, Gender and Everyday Social Transformation in India and Navigating Social Exclusion and Inclusion in Contemporary India and Beyond, among others.
The event will be moderated by Åshild Kolås, a research professor at PRIO working on ethnicity, gender, governance and peacebuilding, currently focusing on political movements in Northeast India.
PRIO Director Kristian Berg Harpviken will give opening remarks to kick off discussion, and after the panelists speak we will open the floor for questions and comments from the audience.
The event is open to the public but seating is limited - please register using the link on top of this page.
