The South Asia Initiative
The South Asia Initiative (SAI) is a platform for research, analysis and outreach on the countries of South Asia, and the relationship between the region and the wider world. The Initiative aims to be a node for Swedish expertise on the region, and Sweden’s approaches to it. SAI strives to be relevant to those professionally or in other ways actively engaging with India and the South Asian region. The Initiative is co-hosted by the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) and the Swedish South Asian Studies Network (SASNET), at Lund University.
Project closed in december 2021
South Asia is connected through languages, shared histories and religions. It is home to about a fifth of the world’s population and a host of complex political relations and security challenges, as well as great economic promise. With the changing role of Asian powers in world affairs, increased knowledge and awareness about the South Asian region is of great importance. SAI focuses on India and dynamics connected to India’s rise, closely follows the political and societal trends in Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and monitors Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal. The activities of the South Asia Initiative are organised around three broad themes:
- Norms and democracy in South Asia
- The Indo-Pacific
- Europe’s engagement with India
SAI conducts academic research, commissioned studies, and contribute actively to international networks. The Initiative communicates with the general public and targeted audiences through seminars and forums, media engagements, expert meetings and written output.
Previous publications:
- UI Brief: Indian Perspectives on Human Rights and the Implications for Sweden and the EU
- UI Paper: A Shared Understanding of India’s Climate Policy? Insights from a Survey of Indian Climate Experts
- ‘What Strategies can do for Strategic Partnerships: Lessons from the EU’s Strategy on India’ in EU-India Relations: The Strategic Partnership in the Light of the European Union Global Strategy edited by Philipp Gieg et al.
- UI Paper: Circles of EU-India Engagement: How Member States Cooperate with India on Global Issues
- A proposal for coordinated climate action: a multilayered Indo-European opportunity
- Violent Jihadist Ideology in South Asia: Socio-Political Implications
- UI Brief: Securing a Shared Neighbourhood: The European Union and India as Partners for Security in Africa
- Indien – en framväxande stormakt
- The Conversation: Ayodhya land ruling has thrust history into the centre of Indian politics – what this means for the future
- The Conversation: Sri Lanka: Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election victory sparks fear among minorities
- UI Paper: The Partnership Shift: Analysing the European Union’s Strategic Engagement with India
- UI Brief: A tenuous trilateral? Russia-India-China relations in a changing world order
- Economic Times: Now is the time to scale up cooperation between India and the EU
- DN Debatt: ”Alltför dåliga kunskaper om asiatiska samhället i Sverige”
- Varför ett kunskapslyft om Asien behövs – En kartläggning av svenskt Asienkunnande
