The Ballot and Beyond: South Asia in 2024

South Asia stands at a pivotal juncture as its three major nations — India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh — prepare for significant elections in the first half of 2024. The effects of these elections will be consequential not only for the individual nations involved but for the entire South Asian region and the broader global landscape.

Join the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) for a thought-provoking discussion on the influence of these elections and what lies ahead. Our panel will examine and dissect the election landscape, delving into the challenges and opportunities that mark the path to the 2024 elections in each country. The discussion will provide insights into the regional and global implications of these elections, while also looking beyond the ballots to the political trends driving international policy choices.

The virtual discussion, moderated by Farwa Aamer, Director of South Asia Initiatives, Asia Society Policy Institute, will feature: C. Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute; Nasim Zehra, Pakistani National Security Expert and Senior Journalist; and Professor Sreeradha Datta, Professor of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University and author of Bangladesh on a New Journey – Moving Beyond Regional Identity.

SPEAKERS

Farwa Aamer (moderator) is the Director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) in New York where she oversees the institute’s policy work and projects in South Asia. Prior to ASPI, Farwa worked at the Stimson Center where she led research on the security, political, and socio-economic dimensions of transboundary river governance in the Himalayan region. Through her work, Farwa has organized and convened high-level Track II dialogues and discussions designed to facilitate greater inter-and intra-regional cooperation on issues and opportunities concerning water, energy, climate change, and sustainable development in South Asia, MENA, and Central Asia. Farwa also worked on highlighting the disproportionate impacts of climate change and water insecurity on women. From 2017 to 2021, Farwa was with the EastWest Institute (EWI) and served as the Director of the South Asia program. At EWI, Farwa worked on promoting non-traditional channels of diplomacy and establishing multi-stakeholder platforms for shared economic, financial, and geopolitical interests by bringing together policy shapers, media influencers, thought leaders, and business experts from within South Asia and across the globe.

Sreeradha Datta is a Professor of International Affairs at the OP Jindal Global University, India. In addition to her other roles, she serves as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Previously, she held the position of Director at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies in Kolkata and had fellowships at several institutions, including the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Her latest book, Bangladesh on a New Journey – Moving Beyond Regional Identity (Bloomsbury, India ) is set to launch soon. Her recent works as Editor include India Bangladesh Bonhomie:1971 and the Present (Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi, 2023), Act East Policy and Northeast India (Vitasta Publication, New Delhi, 2021), BIMSTEC: The Journey and Way Ahead (Pentagon Publishers, New Delhi 2022) and Bangladesh at 50: Development and Challenges (Orient Blackswan, New Delhi 2020). Prof. Datta’s published works include Caretaking Democracy: Political Process in Bangladesh, 2006–2008 (Institute for Defence Studies, New Delhi, 2009), Bangladesh: A Fragile Democracy (Institute for Defence Studies, New Delhi, 2004), and The Northeast Complexities and Its Determinants (Institute for Defence Studies, New Delhi, 2002), among other monographs that cover topics related to Bangladesh, Southeast Asia, and Myanmar. Furthermore, she has contributed over 160 articles to various journals, edited volumes, newspapers, and academic websites.

C. Raja Mohan is a Senior Fellow with the Asia Society Policy Institute in Delhi — a division of the Asia Society India Centre, Mumbai. He is a Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore, and was previously the Director of ISAS. Mohan was the founding director of Carnegie India in Delhi, the sixth international center of Carnegie Endowment for Peace. He was associated with several Indian think tanks, including the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses, the Observer Research Foundation, and the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi.  Mohan was a Professor of South Asian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. He served on India’s National Security Advisory Board.  He was the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Kluge Center, US Library of Congress, Washington DC, during 2009-10. He convened the India chapter of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, during 1995-2005. Mohan has published widely on India’s foreign and security policies, Asian geopolitics, and the global governance of advanced technologies. In his most recent, Mohan co-authored the Adelphi Book, The New Asian Geopolitics: Military Power and Regional Order published by the International Institute of Strategic Studies, London in 2021. He is a columnist for Foreign Policy and the Indian Express. 

Nasim Zehra is a national security specialist and a prominent journalist in Pakistan. As a columnist, television host, and teacher, with extensive experience in the development field, she writes and lectures widely on national security and global politics. Nasim Zehra is a Fellow of the Harvard University Asia Centre and also serves as Visiting Faculty at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, the National University of Science and Technology, and the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. In an honorary capacity, she has served on various committees and held key positions, including the President's Advisory Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Security in 2001, membership in the Kashmir Committee in 2002, and as Pakistan's Special Envoy on UNSC reforms for Canada and Latin America in June 2005. She also holds the position of Editor for Strategic and Foreign Affairs at City News Network–a group comprising seven national and UK-based independent television channels. She also hosts the show 'NasimZehra@Pakistan' on Channel24. Ms. Zehra is also the author of From Kargil to the Coup (2018).