Dr. Adil Rasheed joined MP-IDSA as Research Fellow in August 2016. Before that, he was researcher and political commentator in various international think tanks and media organizations for over 17 years, both in the United Arab Emirates and India. He was Senior Research Fellow at the United Services Institution of India (USI) for two years from 2014 to 2016, where he still holds the honorary title of Distinguished Fellow. He was Researcher at the UAE’s premier think tank The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) for eight years (2006-14), where, in addition to research and publishing several papers and articles, he interviewed many distinguished international leaders such as former US Secretary of State Leon Panetta, former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Mahathir Mohamed, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the first Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC in Iraq Hans Blix, former NATO Chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, etc.
Dr. Rasheed is the author of the book ISIS: Race to Armageddon (2015), which explored the so-called Islamic State’s origins, ideology, vision, mission, organization, administration, military strengths and weaknesses, warfare, global outreach, recruitment and the international response to the challenge it poses. The book also covered the implications for India’s security as regards the growing malicious influence of this jihadist group. The first book on the subject from India, it has been a huge draw internationally and is currently available on Amazon and Kindle. Dr. Rashid has also co-edited the book Indian Ocean Region: Emerging Strategic Cooperation, Competition and Conflict Scenarios. Published by the USI in 2015, this book focuses on growing India-China competition in the quest for strategic control of the world’s third largest ocean, emerging scenarios and recommendations for India’s maritime policies. Dr. Rashid is also the author ofthe seminal research paper ‘Countering the Threat of Radicalization: Theories, Programme and Challenges’ published in the Journal of Defense Studies (April-May 2016).
His publications include:
Jihadists, White Supremacists Vex Russia–Ukraine War
With the war in Ukraine moving towards an uncertain resolution, there is a danger that the influx of heavy weaponry and foreign fighters could bring in a new set of imponderables into an already vicious and escalating conflict.
The ETIM Question: Taliban’s Moment of Truth
The coming of Taliban to power in Afghanistan could upset the geopolitical applecart in Central Asia and adjoining regions. The growing association of radical Uyghur groups like the ETIM, with IS-K and the spread of jihadist operations in Central Asia could have significant implications for regional and international powers, particularly for China and its ambitious plans for Silk Road imperialism.
Influence of Vedanta on Indian Strategic Culture
While discussing the roots of strategic culture of any country, it is important to understand its core belief systems, enshrined in its spiritual, philosophical, political and military treatises that may have played a fundamental role in shaping its collective psyche and by extension, its patterns of perception and behaviour.
The Afghanistan Situation: How India can Discomfit Pakistan Even Now
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Adil Rasheed's article 'The Afghanistan Situation: How India can Discomfit Pakistan Even Now' has been published in the news portal India Narrative on August 17, 2021.
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Countering Islamic State Ideology: Voices of Singapore Scholars edited by Muhammad Haniff Hassan and Rohan Gunaratna, with a Foreword by Karen Armstrong
People often complain that Islamic scholars do little more than condemn the inhuman acts of so-called jihadist groups and fall short of delivering strong, incontrovertible rebuttals against the vicious narratives of terrorist groups, like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). It has also been stated that the ever-rearing Hydra-like heads of terrorism will have to be endlessly severed until genuine Islamic scholarship drains the very swamp of irreligious radicalism from which the monstrosity continually raises new and ugly distortions.
Attack on Nasheed and the Rising Tide of Radicalisation in the Maldives
The attack on former Maldivian President and current Speaker of the Majlis, Mohammad Nasheed, on May 6, 2021 has brought to attention the country’s tenuous political stability, compounded by the problem of Islamist radicalisation.
West Asia: From Non-State Radicalism to State Revisionism
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Adil Rasheed’s research paper 'West Asia: From Non-State Radicalism to State Revisionism' has been published in the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal (IFAJ).
Erdogan’s New Foreign Policy Volte Face
It remains to be seen to what extent Turkish President Recep Tayyeb Erdogan’s recent efforts to mend broken regional ties and address concerns over domestic policies will succeed.
Countering The Radical Narrative
The indoctrination of these extremist ideologies lead to transformation of law-abiding citizens into violent extremists, a process known as radicalisation. This book proposes ways and techniques for reversing this process of radicalisation by taking the fight to the terrorists in the ideological domain. It proposes ways for developing and launching counter-narrative campaigns against radicalisation in order to drain the ideological swamp from which terrorist organisations continue to rear their ugly heads. This book specifically provides conceptual insights into developing counter-narratives against jihadist organisations, like Al Qaeda, ISIS and Pakistan-based terror groups.
France Counters Islamist Radicalisation
In the aftermath of Samuel Paty’s beheading, France is taking measures that seek to reverse the processes through which individuals become ‘terrorists’. If successful, other countries could emulate such policy interventions in their own counter-radicalisation efforts.