Dr Smruti S Pattanaik is a Research Fellow (SS) at the MP-IDSA. Her area of specialisation is South Asia. Her current research project is titled as “India’s Response to China’s Presence in South Asia: Challenges and Policy Options”.
Dr Pattanaik has been a recipient of many international fellowships. She was a Visiting Asia Fellow (Asian Scholarship Foundation, Bangkok) at the Department of International Relations, Dhaka University in 2004 and follow-up grantee in 2007, researching on politics of identity in Bangladesh. She was a recipient of Kodikara Award in 1999 (RCSS, Colombo), a Post-doctoral Fellow at FMSH (Fondation Maison des Science de l’Homme), and was attached to the Centre for International Relations and Research (CERI, Science Po), Paris. She was selected to attend the Symposium on the East Asian Security (SEAS) Program conducted by the US State Department and USPACOM in 2011. She was a Visiting Fellow (September-October 2011) at the International Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), she was a Visiting Professor on ICCR’s India Chair at the University of Colombo for a semester.
She has lectured on India’s foreign policy and South Asia at the Colombo University, Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Asia Centre in the University of Melbourne, University of Karachi, University of Peshawar and University of Dhaka.
She was the Course Director of the India-Bangladesh Studies Programme jointly conducted by Jamia Millia Islamia and Dhaka University. She developed a course on "Political Developments in Bangladesh 1971-2010" as part of the European Union-funded project on Curriculum Development on Peace- building in Europe and South Asia, organised by the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia in 2011.
Dr Pattanaik has published more than 60 research articles in various peer-reviewed journals both in India and abroad. She has contributed more than 50 chapters in edited books, and delivered lectures on security issues both in India and abroad. She has authored a book titled Elite Perception in Foreign Policy: Role of Print Media in Influencing India-Pakistan Relations 1989-1999 (Manohar Publishers & RCSS: 2004), and a Monograph titled Afghanistan and its Neighbourhood: In Search of a Stable Future (PRIO-IDSA, 2013). She has edited two books South Asia: Envisioning a Regional Future, Pentagon Press, Delhi, (2011) and Four Decades of India Bangladesh Relations: Historical Imperatives and Future Direction, Gyan Publishing House, (2012), and two reports titled Pakistan on the Edge (2013) and Unending Violence in Pakistan: Analysing the Trend (2014). She is a member of MP-IDSA’s task force on neighbouring countries and is coordinator of Pakistan project. She writes for the Daily Star and Dhaka Tribune (Bangladesh) and is on the Editorial Board of MP-IDSA’s flagship journal, Strategic Analysis published by Routledge.
China-India rivalry in the Indian Ocean
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Smruti S. Pattanaik’s article ‘China-India rivalry in the Indian Ocean’ has been published in Kathmandu Post, on 14 March 2024.
Smaller countries in the region play a vital role in determining the extent of their domination, says Dr Pattanaik.
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JVP in Sri Lankan politics
Research fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Smruti S. Pattanaik’s article ‘JVP in Sri Lankan politics’ has been published in ‘The Kathmandu Post’, on 28 February 2024.
Revolutionary parties like Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna adopting parliamentary politics is not new in South Asia, says Dr Pattanaik.
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Bhutan Election Paves Way for Political Transition
Prime Minister Tsering Tobgay’s government has to deal with Bhutan’s significant economic, social and diplomatic challenges.
Pakistan Elections 2024: ‘Same Politics’ and Some New Trends
The fragmented mandate will further exacerbate Pakistan’s many political, economic and security challenges.
Pakistan election: Who is the winner?’ Published in The Kathmandu Post
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Smruti S. Pattanaik’s article ‘Pakistan election: Who is the winner?’ has been published in ‘The Kathmandu Post’ on 14 February 2024.
Political instability will add to the country's economic predicaments as it faces severe economic challenges, says Dr Pattanaik.
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Is Myanmar Army losing the plot?’ Published in The Kathmandu Post
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Smruti S. Pattanaik’s article ‘Is Myanmar Army losing the plot?’ has been published in ‘The Kathmandu Post’, on 31 January 2024.
For the first time in its 75-year history, the military has lost large swathes of territory to ethnic groups, says Dr Pattanaik.
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India-Maldives Relations and China
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Smruti S. Pattanaik’s article ‘India-Maldives relations and China’ has been published in ‘The Kathmandu Post’ on17 January 2024.
One may see anti-Indianism spike as the Maldives holds the parliamentary election on March 17, says Dr Pattanaik.
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South Asia’s Turbulent Electoral Politics
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Smruti S. Pattanaik’s article ‘South Asia’s turbulent electoral politics’ has been published in The Kathmandu Post on 3 January 2024. Elections remain only way to political change despite political parties’ misgivings about ECs, says Dr Pattanaik.
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China’s growing footprint in South Asia
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Smruti S. Pattanaik’s article ‘China’s growing footprint in South Asia’, has been published in The Kathmandu Post on 20 December 2023.
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Balancing India-Maldives ties
Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Smruti S. Pattanaik’s article ‘Balancing India-Maldives ties’ has been published in ‘The Kathmandu Post’ on 07 December 2023.
The Maldives has benefitted from its attempt to expand foreign relations, says Dr Pattanaik.
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