I am excited to join the Foreign Policy Association blogging community. It feels great to be a part of one of the largest network of global affairs blogs. Here is a brief introduction about your new blogger Madhavi Bhasin.
Academic interests and personal yearnings inspired my journey from the banks of the Ganges in Kolkata to shores of the Pacific in San Francisco. From Chowringhee Lane (where every aspect of Bengali culture comes alive) to Castro Street, a variety experiences have shaped my outlook to life.
I received schooling in Kolkata and Delhi and kept moving between the two cities during the years of my doctoral dissertation. Inspired by Neoclassical realism, my thesis examined the impact of elite perceptions in ascribing India a hegemonic/leadership role in South Asia. Currently, I am a Visiting Scholar at the Center for South Asian Studies at UC Berkeley, working on the role of new social media in South Asia.
I completely admire the writings of K.Subrahmanyam, India’s strategic guru and a former civil servant. Reading and blogging continue to remain my passion even though these would now qualify less as hobbies and more as professional necessities.
My posts on this blog would primarily highlight India’s foreign and strategic policy and domestic politics while occasionally drawing attention to social and cultural issues in India. Hope you’ll enjoy the posts and join the conversation.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
