Swasti Rao

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Dr. Swasti Rao is Associate Fellow at the Europe and Eurasia Center, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

She has a Masters in Politics (spl’n. IR) and an M.Phil in East Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has completed her PhD in Advanced International Politics from Tsukuba University, Japan. She is a recipient of Japanese Education Ministry Fellowship (MEXT) in 2011 and also a recipient of the ‘Okita Memorial Scholarship’ in 2010 from ICCR.

She holds an adjunct position at the Tokai University, Japan in the capacity of a foreign collaborator for the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) funded research project on “Civil Society and Urban Governance in Asia, 2020-2025”

Her current research project at IDSA is on Conflicts in Europe amidst shifting Global Power Structures: Geometries of Deterrence and Europe’s Indo Pacific outreach as strategies for Threat Balancing. Her other work and research interests explore dimensions of the securitization debate in Europe , Migrant Crisis, Europe’s Outreach to Indo -Pacific, Defence Cooperation between India and Major European Players, Multilateral Cooperation for Space Situational awareness and Maritime Domain Awareness. She also explores Europe- Japan relations and its global implications. She has published with Routledge on intelligence sharing in the Indo Pacific and her forthcoming work with them is on Climate Change and Space Debris issues with special focus on emerging space race.

Before joining MP-IDSA she was Assistant Professor in the Department of Strategic and Security Studies, AMU where she taught courses on European Security, Rise of China and implications for World Order, Research Methodology and UN Peacekeeping.

She has also been Research Associate at the Graduate School of Humanities and Politics at the University of Tsukuba, Japan from 2011-2016.

She has been a Principal Investigator in Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) funded project,”A Comparative and Empirical Study of the Structural Changes in Politics” from 2011-2014.

She is the editor of Either/Or, an academic journal dedicated to international and political affairs.

Dr. Rao has published extensively, delivered talks and lectures at various international universities like Australian National University, Canberra; Gakushuin University and Tokai University, Japan; Giresun University, Turkey; National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico; Thammasat University, Thailand and writes regular Op-ed columns for leading dailies.

She has been involved in syllabus writing for Political Science, CBCS, IGNOU for the year 2020 and has been associated with the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), for collating International Relations Resources and Research Methodology Resources for teachers in Higher Education in 2020 funded by the National Resource Centre for Education, NEUPA
Other Publications

  • Associate Fellow
  • Email: rswasti[dot]mpidsa[at]gov[dot]in
  • Phone: +91 11 2671 7983

Publication

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Israel is neutral on Ukraine for three reasons. India can align with it to ease tensions

Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Swasti Rao’s article ‘Israel is neutral on Ukraine for three reasons. India can align with it to ease tensions’ has been published in ‘The Print’ on 10 February 2023.

Given the rock-solid nature of the US-Israel friendship, working with Israel can strengthen New Delhi’s relations with Washington too, says Dr Rao.

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  • Published: 10 February, 2023
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Challenges of Space Debris and Space Drag: Building an International Climate Change Regime

Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Swasti Rao and Kunwar Alkendra Pratap Singh’s co-authored Chapter, ‘Challenges of Space Debris and Space Drag: Building an International Climate Change Regime’ has been published in ‘Politics of Climate Change: Crises, Conventions and Cooperation’, published by World Scientific, Singapore; ISBN: 978-981-126-374-3 (hardcover).

https://worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/13067#t=aboutBookRead More [+]

  • Published: 30 January, 2023
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Green hydrogen defines EU’s energy security goals. India is its gateway to achieve them

Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Swasti Rao’s Opinion piece ‘Green hydrogen defines EU’s energy security goals. India is its gateway to achieve them’ has been published by ‘The Print’ on 27 January 2022.

With rising cooperation between India and European partners, the road to the EU's transition to renewables will pass through trusted connections such as New Delhi, says Dr Rao.

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  • Published: 27 January, 2023
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Japan, the only country merging two security theatres in Europe and Indo-Pacific

Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Swasti Rao’s article ‘Japan, the only country merging two security theatres in Europe and Indo-Pacific’ has been published by ‘The Print’ Swasti Rao’s article ‘Japan, the only country merging two security theatres in Europe and Indo-Pacific’ has been published by ‘The Print’ on 13 January 2023.

If there is one Indo-Pacific player with the economic heft and strategic capabilities to truly champion the merging of the two security theatres, it is Japan, says Dr Rao.

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  • Published: 13 January, 2023
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Ukraine Now A Bottomless Pit for Western Aid. With No Attention to Its Chronic Corruption

Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Swasti Rao’s article ‘Ukraine now a bottomless pit for Western aid. With no attention to its chronic corruption’ has been published in ‘The Print’ on 16 December 2022.

The longer the war stretches, the more Ukraine's ability to fight systemic corruption gets diminished as more money and weapons will flow to sustain the country, says Dr Rao.

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  • Published: 16 December, 2022
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G-20 Presidency: Can India reverse the Discontentment with Multilateralism

Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Swasti Rao’s article ‘G-20 Presidency: Can India reverse the Discontentment with Multilateralism’ has been published in the annual edition of the Diplomatist, on 15 December 2022.

India’s presidency of the G20 will be focused on these issues. Differences over energy diversification and the emerging challenges in trade and technology will also need reconciliation by a credible player like India. Policy coherence in macroeconomics and trade shall be a key ponderable, says Dr Rao.

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  • Published: 15 December, 2022