Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
मनोहर पर्रिकर रक्षा अध्ययन एवं विश्लेषण संस्थान

Rajeesh Kumar

Dr Rajeesh Kumar is a Research Fellow at the Institute. Dr Kumar completed his PhD from the Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Prior to joining MP-IDSA in 2016, he held teaching positions at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and University of Calicut, Kerala. He is also the Book Review Editor of Strategic Analysis published by Routledge, the institute’s flagship journal.

Dr Kumar is the author of the monographs titled – Indian and Chinese Approaches to United Nations Peacekeeping in Africa (MP-IDSA, 2024), Principled but Evolving: India’s Approach to Multilateral Peace and Security (MP-IDSA, 2021) and The International Committee of the Red Cross in Internal Armed Conflicts: Is Neutrality Possible (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). He is also the co-editor of India and Africa: Deepening the Security Engagement (Pentagon, 2024), Eurozone Crisis and the Future of Europe: Political Economy of Further Integration and Governance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) and Islam Islamist Movements and Democracy in the Middle East (Global Vision, 2013). His articles, opinion pieces, and reviews have appeared in Journals and Newspapers, including Strategic Analysis, India Quarterly, Journal of Defence Studies, Journal of Common Market Studies, Central European University Political Science Journal, The Indian Journal of Politics and International Relations, E-International Relations, The Hindu, The Diplomat, Japan Times, Tehran Times and The Outlook.

He was also one of the Co-Chairs of the Think-20 Task Force on ‘Reformed Multilateralism: Transforming Global Institutions and Frameworks’ during India’s G20 presidency.

Research Fellow

Publication

Trump’s Board of Peace: Multilateralism and India’s Strategic Choices

In January 2026, the United States took two decisions that together signal a turning point in the evolution of post-World War global governance. The first was the leaked release of the Charter of the Board of Peace (BoP). The second was a presidential directive withdrawing or sharply reducing US engagement with a wide range of international organisations, including several core United Nations bodies. Individually, each move could be interpreted as another episode in Washington’s—especially President Trump’s—long-running frustration with multilateral institutions (Kumar Citation2020). In combination, these dynamics indicate something more consequential: the emergence of a parallel architecture for peace, one that bypasses universal rules in favour of selective, deal-based arrangements.

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Rajeesh Kumar’s Article ‘Rising Powers and Global Peacekeeping Governance: India, China, and the Politics of UN Peacekeeping in Africa’ Published in International Peacekeeping

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Rajeesh Kumar’s article ‘Rising Powers and Global Peacekeeping Governance: India, China, and the Politics of UN Peacekeeping in Africa’ was published in International Peacekeeping on 27 June 2026. The article examines how rising powers, particularly India and China, shape the governance of United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa. Read Complete Article [+] Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are personal and do not in any way reflect the views of MP-IDSA or the Government of India.

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