Michael Kugelman is Asia Program deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. He can be reached on Twitter @michaelkugelman and at michael.kugelman@wilsoncenter.org. He is also a Board Member of South Asia Journal.
Despite a border cease-fire with Pakistan, India faces a growing set of challenges in its backyard. BY MICHAEL KUGELMAN APRIL 1, 2021 Welcome to Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief. The highlights this week: India’s neighborhood challenges could undermine its influence, COVID-19 cases continue to rise in India and Pakistan, and Washington excludes Islamabad from a global climate summit. If you would like to
READ MOREMichael Kugelman 23 Nov 2020 DAWN The writer is Asia Programme deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars. WHEN asked what to expect for Pak-US relations under President-elect Joe Biden, one is tempted to say “more of the same”. Indeed, Biden and Trump don’t agree on
READ MOREEconomic woes are giving the alliance legs, but overturning a military-backed prime minister is a hard proposition. BY MICHAEL KUGELMAN OCTOBER 29, 2020 Supporters of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement carry their parties’ flags during an anti-government rally in Quetta on Oct. 25. BANARAS KHAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Anew unified anti-government movement has emerged in Pakistan amid
READ MOREMichael Kugelman Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 After a series of setbacks, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a multibillion-dollar assortment of infrastructure projects that constitutes the Pakistani component of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, is poised for a resurgence. Or is it? Last month, the Pakistani investigative news site FactFocus published a damning expose about Asim Bajwa, the head
READ MOREBY MICHAEL KUGELMAN AUGUST 21, 2020 Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses the legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, on Aug. 5. AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES This past April, a Pakistani columnist named Suhail Warraich boldly predicted that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government could fall in June—less than two years after it took office—if it didn’t
READ MOREMichael Kugelman, The National Interest• June 6, 2020 Click here to read the full original article. For several weeks, India and China have been mired in a border standoff in the Himalayan region of Ladakh. Much ink has been spilled about this crisis, but one question that hasn’t often been addressed is what it means
READ MOREby Michael Kugelman 11 April 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump (R) holds a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria – HP1ED6Q1OGX30 President Donald Trump visited India on February 24 and 25. By most measures, the trip
READ MOREMichael Kugelman March 26, 2020 It is hard to overstate the significance of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s surprise visit to Afghanistan on Monday. With his country in the throes of the coronavirus, and no one — not even senior officials — traveling anywhere, Pompeo boarded a plane and took the long flight to
READ MOREMobs roamed New Delhi’s streets as Trump and Modi talked, but the partnership remains robust. By Michael Kugelman | 7 March 2020 Donald Trump’s two-day visit to India has come and gone. As expected, it was a grand spectacle. The optics of the U.S. president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking before tens of
READ MOREMichael Kugelman January 25, 2020 These are momentous times for South Asia and the next few weeks could be highly consequential for US policy there. In recent days, Ambassador Alice Wells, the top South Asia official at the US State Department, has held a series of meetings in India and Pakistan. Meanwhile, US-Taliban talks — back
READ MOREBy Michael Kugelman | December 31, 2019 | South Asia, according to a recent IMF study, houses more than a fifth of the world’s population and contributes to more than 15 percent of global economic growth. The region is also highly vulnerable to threats from terrorism to climate change. Additionally, it is home to America’s
READ MOREBy Michael Kugelman November 26, 2019 Editor’s Note: (Michael Kugelman is deputy director and senior associate for South Asia with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. You can follow him on Twitter @michaelkugelman. The views expressed are his own.) (CNN)November 26 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks. Over four terrifying
READ MOREThe Islamic State-Khorasan offers a powerful case study of the militant group’s ability to create autonomous affiliates that flourish and endure. BY MICHAEL KUGELMAN | NOVEMBER 8, 2019 Acouple of years ago, a conspiracy theory emerged alleging that the United States was backing the Islamic State in Afghanistan. It had a curious mix of propagators: former Afghan President
READ MOREBy Michael Kugelman October 17, 2019 Last week, the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan marked its 18-year anniversary. U.S. forces have now been fighting there for nearly two decades. Afghans, however, have experienced conflict for twice as long. Before U.S. troops arrived in October 2001, there was a period of Taliban rule, and that was preceded
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