Smruti S. Pattanaik

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Dr Smruti S Pattanaik is a Research Fellow (SS) at the MP-IDSA. Her area of specialisation is South Asia. Her current research project is titled as “India’s Response to China’s Presence in South Asia: Challenges and Policy Options”.

Dr Pattanaik has been a recipient of many international fellowships. She was a Visiting Asia Fellow (Asian Scholarship Foundation, Bangkok) at the Department of International Relations, Dhaka University in 2004 and follow-up grantee in 2007, researching on politics of identity in Bangladesh. She was a recipient of Kodikara Award in 1999 (RCSS, Colombo), a Post-doctoral Fellow at FMSH (Fondation Maison des Science de l’Homme), and was attached to the Centre for International Relations and Research (CERI, Science Po), Paris. She was selected to attend the Symposium on the East Asian Security (SEAS) Program conducted by the US State Department and USPACOM in 2011. She was a Visiting Fellow (September-October 2011) at the International Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), she was a Visiting Professor on ICCR’s India Chair at the University of Colombo for a semester.

She has lectured on India’s foreign policy and South Asia at the Colombo University, Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Asia Centre in the University of Melbourne, University of Karachi, University of Peshawar and University of Dhaka.

She was the Course Director of the India-Bangladesh Studies Programme jointly conducted by Jamia Millia Islamia and Dhaka University. She developed a course on “Political Developments in Bangladesh 1971-2010” as part of the European Union-funded project on Curriculum Development on Peace- building in Europe and South Asia, organised by the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia in 2011.

Dr Pattanaik has published more than 60 research articles in various peer-reviewed journals both in India and abroad. She has contributed more than 50 chapters in edited books, and delivered lectures on security issues both in India and abroad. She has authored a book titled Elite Perception in Foreign Policy: Role of Print Media in Influencing India-Pakistan Relations 1989-1999 (Manohar Publishers & RCSS: 2004), and a Monograph titled Afghanistan and its Neighbourhood: In Search of a Stable Future (PRIO-IDSA, 2013). She has edited two books South Asia: Envisioning a Regional Future, Pentagon Press, Delhi, (2011) and Four Decades of India Bangladesh Relations: Historical Imperatives and Future Direction, Gyan Publishing House, (2012), and two reports titled Pakistan on the Edge (2013) and Unending Violence in Pakistan: Analysing the Trend (2014). She is a member of MP-IDSA’s task force on neighbouring countries and is coordinator of Pakistan project. She writes for the Daily Star and Dhaka Tribune (Bangladesh) and is on the Editorial Board of MP-IDSA’s flagship journal, Strategic Analysis published by Routledge.

  • Research Fellow
  • Email:smrutispattanaik[at]gmail[dot]com
  • Phone: +91 11 2671 7983

Publication

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Raising the Costs for Pakistan

Research Fellow, IDSA, Dr Smruti Pattanaik’s article on India’s airstrikes in Pakistan, titled ‘Raising the Costs for Pakistan’ was published by The Economic Times on February 26, 2019.

It was time that India raised the diplomatic and military costs for Pakistan, while taking necessary action to secure itself. Tuesday’s air strike in Balakot reflects this new direction in India’s policy, says Dr Pattanaik.

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  • Published: 26 February, 2019
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Turning Bimstec into a vehicle for regional cooperation

Research Fellow, IDSA, Dr Smruti Pattanaik’s article on BIMSTEC, titled ‘Turning Bimstec into a vehicle for regional cooperation’ was published in The Daily Star on August 31, 2018.

The article analyses BIMSTEC’s potential to transform the region. The organization will remain a vehicle for transforming eastern South Asia where the members share fairly good relations. With the right mixture of political will and direction, BIMSTEC can deliver in areas where SAARC has not been able to, reads the article.

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  • Published: 31 August, 2018
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The future of ‘Naya Pakistan’

Research Fellow, IDSA, Dr Smruti Pattanaik’s article on the recently concluded Pakistan elections, titled ‘The future of 'Naya Pakistan' was published in ‘The Daily Star’ on July 31, 2018.

The article spells out the challenges before the new government in delivering a corruption-free Pakistan which is sensitive to the expectations of the people.

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  • Published: 31 July, 2018
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Transforming Eastern South Asia: Relevance of BIMSTEC

Of late the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is receiving sincere attention from its member countries as an organisation that has the potential to transform the region’s political and economic future. This is because there are several bilateral and sub-regional ongoing projects that are seeking to connect the region and bind them together into one economic whole. Apart from this, after the cancellation of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit in 2017, many would see the BIMSTEC as an alternative to SAARC.

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Analysing China’s soft power strategy and comparative Indian initiatives

Soft power has become a new currency of power in international relations. It assumes more significance with countries that are sovereign equals but vulnerable to dominance and hegemonic actions by powerful states in international system. Especially in countries that are extremely sovereignty-sensitive, actions through soft power becomes more acceptable as a means of intervention whether it is economic or cultural investment Of dominant powers. American soft power is much more about the attractiveness of America as a liberal democracy.

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Reshaping Asian politics

Research Fellow, IDSA, Dr Smruti Pattanaik’s article on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), titled ‘Reshaping Asian politics’ has been published in The Dakha Tribune on June 13, 2018.

The article analyses how the SCO will play a crucial role in shaping politics in the Asian region.

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  • Published: 13 June, 2018