< Back Dr C Vinodan C. Vinodan is the Director of the School of International Relations and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. He holds a PhD from Kerala University and serves as the Editor of the South Asian Journal of Diplomacy, and the Indian Journal of Politics and International Relations. He is an Associate Member at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi and the Chairman of the Centre for Strategic and Security Studies, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. He is also an Associate at the Human Security Institute, Canada. Among other topics, his research focuses on the Indo- Pacific; US Foreign policy, China Studies; the Belt and Road Initiative, and South Asian Studies. He is the co-author of the book, ‘USA-China relations in the 21st century’ published by Routledge. Publications Origin of Conservation Refugees: https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/26-27/special-articles/origin-conservation-refugees.html China and the Emerging Global Energy System: http://e-journal.uum.edu.my/index.php/jis/article/view/7941

< Back Ms Sharon Susan Koshy I'm currently working in the areas of Indo Pacific affairs, foreign policy, diplomacy, and security studies. I have a masters in International Relations and Political Science and an M.Phil in Political Science from University of Hyderabad. My earlier research work mainly focused on gender politics and regime change, and refugee studies. I'm an IR enthusiast and love reading history, because I believe historical understanding is crucial to analyse anything contemporary. I often describe myself as an angry poet and calm painter, two of my most important creative spaces. Besides, I do cartography and reproduce maps for fun. In my current organisation, I'm an IR researcher focusing on the Indo Pacific, the geopolitics of China in the mix and QUAD's engagement with the region. I thoroughly enjoy reading and writing and communicating the learnings to an audience. Publications

< Back Dr HAPPYMON JACOB EDITOR-IN-CHIEF happymon@csdronline.com Happymon Jacob is the founder and director of the Council For Strategic and Defense Research, a new-age think-tank based in New Delhi. Dr Jacob is also an Associate Professor of Diplomacy and Disarmament at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Dr Jacob is an accomplished author, having written the books ‘Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India-Pakistan Escalation Dynamics’ (OUP, 2019) and ‘Line of Control: Traveling with the Indian and Pakistani Armies’ (Penguin Viking, 2018). happy@csdronline.com 123-456-7890

< Back Dr Vilashini Somiah Dr. Vilashini Somiah is an anthropologist from Sabah, Malaysia at the Gender Studies Programme at Universiti Malaya. She is passionate about the narratives and agency of Bornean women, migrants, and indigenes, and other sexual and gender minorities, which are often underrepresented. Dr. Somiah has been a recipient of numerous grants and awards which includes the Tun Abdul Razak Chair Graduate Scholarship at Ohio University, The Graduate Research Scholarship at the National University of Singapore, the ASEAN-Australia Visiting Fellowship, and together with colleagues from the Faculty of Arts and Social Science at Universiti Malaya and The Singapore University of Social Sciences, The Henry Luce Foundation - LuceSEA initiative Award. Publications

< Back Elizabeth Morison Elizabeth Morison is a Researcher in the Climate and Energy Program, at the Australia Institute and holds an Honours degree in Conservation Biology, with a focus on the impacts of climate extremes on ecosystems. Her interest areas are climate, environmental integrity and social license. Publications

Amb. Shivshankar Menon served as India’s Foreign Secretary in 2006-09 and subsequently as its fourth National Security Advisor. A career diplomat, he is among India’s foremost foreign policy experts. < Back Amb. Shivshankar Menon Ambassador Shivshankar Menon is currently visiting professor at Ashoka University, India, and Chair of the Ashoka Centre for China Studies. He was previously National Security Advisor 2010-2014; Foreign Secretary of India, 2006-2009; and Indian Ambassador or High Commissioner to China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Israel.He has published Choices; Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy in 2016 and India and Asian Geopolitics; The Past, Present (Brookings Press USA, & Penguin Random House India) in April 2021.

< Back Mr Angshuman Choudhury Angshuman Choudhury is currently a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Prior to this, he was a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, where he also coordinated the South East Asia Research Programme. He is also a former GIBSA Visiting Fellow to the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin. He primarily works on Myanmar, Southeast Asia, India-ASEAN relations, Indian foreign policy, and citizenship and identity in Northeast India. His writings on these issues have appeared in a number of Indian and international publications, including South China Morning Post, Asia Times, The Diplomat, The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Irrawaddy, Channel News Asia, Scroll, and The Wire. He also sits on the Board of Trustees of the Development and Justice Initiative (DAJI), a New Delhi-based NGO that works with asylum seekers and other marginalised groups. He is the co-founder of Right to Nationality and Citizenship Network (RNCN), a collective of researchers, lawyers, and activists researching on and advocating against statelessness in India. Publications Nagaland Deaths: How Govt Apathy Created a Permanent ‘State of Exception’ thequint.com/voices/opinion/nagaland-deaths-govt-apathy-has-created-a-permanent-state-of-exception-in-northeast Neutrality or timidity? Unpacking India's position on the Russia-Ukraine crisis https://barbedwires.substack.com/p/neutrality-or-timidity-unpacking?s=r Hijab ban: How some liberals are sleepwalking into the trap set by Hindutva nationalists https://scroll.in/article/1017559/hijab-ban-how-some-liberals-are-sleepwalking-into-the-trap-set-by-hindutva-nationalists

Dr. Gaurav Saini is the co-founder and Head of Operations and Strategy at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research. < Back Executive Editor: Dr. Gaurav Saini Dr. Gaurav Saini is co-founder of CSDR and leads product design and partnerships. Dr. Saini holds a PhD in International Politics from the Centre for International Politics, Organization, and Disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. His research interests include foreign policy, strategic culture, defense industry, regionalism, and conflict resolution. Currently, he is an Emerging Quad Think Tank Leader, a part of the U.S. State Department’s Leaders Lead on Demand program.

< Back Dr Sharinee L Jagtiani Dr Sharinee Jagtiani is an analyst & researcher of international relations and public policy. She has 10 years’ experience in think-tanks & research institutions across Asia and Europe in cross-functional roles that include foreign policy analysis, policy advice, project management, grant procurement, stakeholder management, communication, and lecturing. She has a doctorate in International Relations at Oxford University and her thesis focused on Indian foreign policy. She is currently based at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and Oxford working on global affairs and rising powers, with a passion for examining the international relations and foreign policies of the global South. Publications

< Back Dr Benjamin Yew Hoong Loh Benjamin Yew Hoong Loh is a senior lecturer at the School of Media and Communication, Taylor’s University. He is a media scholar who employs digital ethnography in studying emergent cultures and the digital public sphere. Having received his doctorate in communications and new media from the National University of Singapore, he focuses on the confluence between technology and society, with a particular focus on minority and marginalised communities. He co-edited a book on the recent Sabah state elections, “Sabah from the Ground: The 2020 Elections and the Politics of Survival” (ISEAS/SIRD 2021). His next book, a co-edited volume with James Chin entitled, “New Media in the Margins: Lived Realities and Experiences from the Malaysian Peripheries” (Palgrave 2023) will be published in early 2023. Publications

< Back Mr Abhijeet Kumar Abhijeet is a PhD researcher at the Queen Mary University of London, and a recipient of the Herchel Smith Fellowship, researching the issues related to the protection of Indigenous Cultural Heritages through intellectual property regime. He has done his B.A., LL.B. degree, with a Gold Medal and dual honours in Political Science and Intellectual Property Rights, from NLU Odisha (India), and his LLM degree, as the batch-topper, from NLU Jodhpur (India), with specialisation in Intellectual Property Rights. He has authored several research papers, book chapters and reviews, along with his first monograph titled ‘A Complete Guide to Valuation of IP Assets (With Discussions on Managing, Auditing and Taxing IPs)’, published by Thomson Reuters. He has professional experience of practising as an Advocate before Courts in India and is presently employed as an In-house Counsel for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, a ‘Maharatna’ Undertaking of Govt. of India. Publications

< Back Dr Ying Hooi Khoo Khoo Ying Hooi is the Head of, and Senior Lecturer at, the Department of International and Strategic Studies, University of Malaya. She completed her PhD in Politics and Government examining social movements and democratization with a focus on Malaysia's Bersih movement, from Universiti Putra Malaysia. Her research interests include civil society, social movements, human rights and democratization with a regional focus on Southeast Asia and ASEAN, especially Malaysia and Timor-Leste. Currently, a columnist in a local Chinese newspaper, Sin Chew Jit Poh, she is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Malaysian Journal of International Relations (MJIR), and sits on the Board of Editors for the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights and the Indonesian Law Review. Her most recent book is titled, "The Bersih Movement and Democratization in Malaysia", and published by ISEAS and Lexington Books. Publications Have Human Rights Failed? https://www.sinchew.com.my/?p=3108161 COVID-19 in Southeast Asia: much more than a health crisis https://theconversation.com/covid-19-in-southeast-asia-much-more-than-a-health-crisis-159451 What Will It Take to Admit Timor-Leste Into ASEAN? https://thediplomat.com/2019/08/what-will-it-take-to-admit-timor-leste-into-asean/