Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), was founded in 1996 as an independent think-tank to develop an alternative framework for Peace and Security in South Asia through independent research and analysis. It continues to be one of the leading independent institutes in the region with no affiliation to a particular institution and/or ideology. The core research of IPCS focuses on internal security, nuclear issues and regional conflicts. Since its founding IPCS has been the cradle of the next generation of strategic thinkers. This focus on youth is reflected both in its faculty and its strong internship programme focussed on building up the next generation of thought leaders.^[1]

Research

IPCS focuses on a range of traditional and non-traditional security challenges. IPCS endeavours to nurture the next generation of scholars from India and beyond.^[2] The research is broadly divided into the following thematic & geographic categories -^[3]

· Nuclear Security

· Southeast Asia

· China & East Asia

· Internal and Regional Security

· Military & Defence

· Economics

Funding, Projects and Independence

The IPCS is involved in many projects relating to contemporary international affairs. It has receieved project support by various establishments that include the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Alton Jones Foundation, the Ploughshares Fund, the Japan Foundation, Nuclear Threat Initiative and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

While IPCS receives funding from various government agencies and private sources, its policy recommendations do not subscribe to any particular political view or interest. The Institute is dedicated to independent and non-partisan research and analysis.

A list of some of the projects undertaken by the Institute in recent years include:

• UN and the New Threats: Rethinking Security

This project is supported by the United Nations Foundation to facilitate the task of the United Nations High Level Threat Panel. As a part of the project, a three-day international conference was held in July 2004 at the Taj Palace, New Delhi. The proceedings of the conference are being prepared for publication (as of 2007).

• Bio-terrorism and Bio-defence

The IPCS was awarded a project by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on bio-defence and biological terrorism. Its purpose was to examine the threat of biological weapons being used by terrorists and the role of the government, the private sector and civil defense management in countering this threat. A one-day seminar for the project was carried out in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Germany. As a part of the project, a three-day China-India-Germany trilateral dialogue was organized by the Institute at Manesar in February 2004. A book about this project is to be published. (as of 2007).

• Fostering Discourse on WMD in South Asia

This project, supported by the Ploughshares Fund, aims to encourage an alternative discourse on weapons of mass destruction through wider distribution of IPCS publications and providing capacity building to younger scholars.

• Developing a New Web Module on WMD Issues

This is an ongoing project supported by the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The grant concerns the development of a new web module for comprehensive coverage of issues relating to weapons of mass destruction.

• Nuclear Stability in Southern Asia

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, organized a one-day international conference which was attended by experts in the field of nuclear proliferation to assess the threat of a nuclear showdown in the sub-continent. The papers presented in the conference have been published in the form of a book. The project was completed in 2002.

• India's Energy Concerns

The IPCS, along with the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, conducted a one-day conference on India's energy concerns. Experts in the field of Coal, Gas, Hydro, and Nuclear energies were invited to present papers on their respective fields. The conference focused upon the importance of energy security in the overall framework of national security. The papers presented in the seminar have been published as a monograph. The project was completed in 2003.

• Missing Boundaries: Refugees, Migrants, Stateless and Internally Displaced Persons in South Asia

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation and the Asian Centre for Human Rights, New Delhi, organized a two-day regional conference in 2002 on the issue of displacement in South Asia including refugees, both environmental and forcibly displaced economic migrants, stateless persons and internally displaced persons. A book containing papers presented at the conference has been published. The project was completed in 2002.

• Indian Perspective to the Kashmir Conflict

The IPCS undertook a project funded by the International Crisis Group to provide an Indian perspective to the Kashmir conflict, with historical overviews and discussion of both the internal and external strategies adopted by India. The study was published by the International Crisis Group as "Kashmir: The View From New Delhi", Asia Report No.69. The project was completed in 2003.

• Limited War Between India and Pakistan Under the Nuclear Shadow

The IPCS won a Solicited Grant from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) for research on the subject of limited war. P.R. Chari, Stephen P. Cohen and Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema are the principal investigators. The study will culminate in a book.

• Biological Weapons: Conflicting Political and Economic Interests

The IPCS, supported by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, undertook a study on biological weapons reflecting the conflicting political and economic dimensions. The study culminated in a conference and the papers presented have been published in the form of a book. The project was completed in 2002.

• Terrorism and its Repercussions on International Politics

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung; abbreviation: FES), organized a two-day conference at Manesar in December 2002 on the subject of terrorism. The lead papers and the conference document have been published as a book. The project was completed in 2003.

• Alternative Approaches to Different Aspects of Security in India

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Ford Foundation, USA, has undertaken a three-year project to study different aspects of security in India and has commissioned a four-part study on non-military challenges to security and national integration from a security standpoint. The study was in its advanced stages in 2007.

• Indo-US Relations

The IPCS undertook a study of the issues pertinent to Indo-U.S. relations with the intention of drawing up a report along the lines suggested by the Council on Foreign Relations and several other such reports previously published in the United States, with an Indo-centric orientation. The report, based on input from experts in the field, has been published online. The project was completed in 2002.

• Verification of the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention

On behalf of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the Institute organized a one-day conference in 2002 on the problems of monitoring and verifying biological and toxic weapons. The significance of this conference was increased as it occurred just prior to the reopening of the BTWC Convention in Geneva. The outcome of the seminar has been published in the form of a book. The project was completed in 2002.

• Human Security in South Asia

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, Asian Centre, and the Bangladesh Institute for International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Dhaka, organized a South Asian conference in 2001 titled "Regional Conference on Human Security in South Asia: Evolving a Theoretical Perspective on Human Security," which has been published. The project was completed in 2002.

• Comprehensive and Co-operative Security in South Asia

Along with the Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, the IPCS undertook a project to identify the possibilities for building cooperative security in South Asia. The Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA) funded this project, which culminated in a book entitled "Security in South Asia". The project was completed in 1999.

• A New Paradigm of National Security for South Asia

In collaboration with the Ford Foundation, USA, the Institute undertook a two-year project to explore alternative paradigms of national security in South Asia, which culminated in a book entitled "Perspectives on National Security in South Asia: In Search of a New Paradigm." The project was completed in 1999.

Publications

As an independent think-tank, the IPCS believes in promoting alternative approaches to security issues. Over the years, the Institute has established a reputation for the quality of its publications. Besides individual publications by its faculty, over the past decade, more than 40 books on wide-ranging subjects have been published.

The most regular publications are real-time op-ed style commentaries on current issues. On an average, the IPCS publishes 35-40 commentaries each month. Research Papers, Special Reports and Issue Briefs, which are longer papers of varying lengths, are also published. In addition, it hosts monthly columns written by a roster of eminent experts and scholars from across South Asia. IPCS also publishes scholarly research monographs and books authored and edited by the members of its faculty.

The IPCS website is a repository of information and real-time commentary on security issues and consistently has among the highest viewership of any public policy think-tank in India

IPCS also publishes scholarly research monographs and books authored and edited by the members of its faculty. Books authored or edited by IPCS faculty members are:

• Emerging Challenges in UN Peacekeeping Operations an Indo-Japanese Dialogue, edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Ramesh Thakur
• NATO and European Dialogues with India, edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Aisha Saltanat
• Trilateral Security Dialogue: India, China and Germany, edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Jabin T. Jacob
• EU-India Relations: Beginning a New Era, edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee
• Jammu and Kashmir - Charting A Future, edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Suba Chandran
• Rethinking Security, UN and the New Threats, edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee
• Indo-Pak Conflicts Ripe to Resolve?, Rizwan Zeb and Suba Chandran
• Alternative Approaches to Security, National Integration, Governance and Non-Military Challenges R. Radhakrishnan, Prafulla Ketkar and Aisha Sultanat
• Small Arms and the Security Debate in South Asia, Salma Malik and Mallika Joseph
• Bio-Terrorism and Bio-defence, P. R. Chari and Suba Chandran
• Limited War - Revisiting Kargil in the Indo-Pak Conflict, Suba Chandran
• Study on India's Energy Security, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies and The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India
• Missing Boundaries: Refugees, Migrants, Stateless and Internally Displaced Persons in South Asia, edited by P. R. Chari, Mallika Joseph and Suba Chandran
• Nuclear Stability in Southern Asia, edited by P. R. Chari, Arpit Rajain and Sonika Gupta
• Biological Weapons: Issues and Threats, edited by P. R. Chari and Arpit Rajain
• India-US Relations: Promoting Synergy, Independent Core Group
• Human Security in South Asia: Gender, Migration and Globalisation, edited by P. R. Chari and Sonika Gupta
• Working towards a Verification Protocol for Biological Weapons, edited by P. R. Chari and Arpit Rajain
• Security and Governance in South Asia, edited by P. R. Chari
• Simla Agreement of 1972, edited by P. R. Chari and Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema
• Kargil: The Tables Turned, edited by Major General Ashok Krishna and P. R. Chari
• Lethal Fields: Landmines in South Asia, Mallika Joseph and Suba Chandran
• Perspectives on National Security in South Asia, edited by P. R. Chari
• Anti-Personnel Landmines: A South Asian Regional Survey, Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Mallika Joseph
• India: Towards Millennium, edited by P. R. Chari
• Comprehensive and Cooperative Security in South Asia, edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee

References

External links

• Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies
• Ministry of Defence, Government of India
• Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India