Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) is India's leading independent defense, foreign policy and security studies think tank. Founded in 1996, the Institute has carved out a niche for itself as an internationally recognized premier political think tank. Leading strategic thinkers, academicians, diplomats, former members of the civil services, foreign services, armed forces, and media persons have been associated with the Institute in its endeavor to chalk out a comprehensive framework for security studies - one which can cater to the changing demands of national, regional and global peace and security. The Institute maintains close liaison with the Ministries of Defense and External Affairs, Government of India, and plays an instrumental role in the policy making of the Asian countries.

Research

The primary objective of the IPCS has been to chalk out a comprehensive framework for security studies - one which caters to the changing demands of national, regional and global peace and security. Apart from analyzing the existing approaches to security, peace, and world order, the IPCS has made a foray into evolving alternative approaches to the aforesaid issues, to promote a harmonious and secured regional and global order. More specifically, the IPCS focuses on:

* Disarmament and Arms Control
* Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
* Comprehensive and Cooperative Security
* Non-military Threats to Security
* Confidence Building Measures
* Terrorism
* Indo-Pak Relations
* Sino-Indian Relations
* Regional Cooperation in South Asia
* South and Southeast Asian Security
* Foreign Policies of the Countries in South and Southeast Asia
* Foreign Policies of Big Powers
* China's Security Policies
* Security and Governance
* Human Security

Projects

IPCS carries out vital projects on contemporary international affairs, dedicated to the study of peace and security funded by philanthropic organizations like the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Alton Jones Foundation, Ploughshares Foundation, Japan Foundation, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to name a few. A list of some of the projects taken up by the Institute over the last few years include:

* UN and the New Threats: Rethinking Security

The project is supported by the United Nations Foundation to facilitate the task of the United Nations High Level Panel. As a part of the project, a three day international conference was organized in July 2004 at Taj Palace, New Delhi. The proceedings of the conference are in the process of publication.

* Bioterrorism and Biodefence

IPCS was awarded a project by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Biodefence and Bioterrorism to examine the Bioweapons threat from terrorists and the role of the government, the private sector and the civil defense management in countering this threat. A one day seminar, the project was carried out in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Germany. As a part of the project, a three day China-India-Germany trilateral dialog was organized by the IInstitute at Manesar in February 2004. The presentations made and the conclusions arrived at are under publication and will culminate in the form of a book.

* Fostering the Discourse on WMD in South Asia

The project, supported by the Ploughshares Fund, aims at encouraging an alternative discourse on and relating to weapons of mass destruction through wider distribution of IPCS publications and by providing for capacity building among younger scholars.

* Developing a new module on WMD issues

This is an ongoing project supported by the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The grant relates to the developing of a new web module for comprehensive coverage of issues relating to weapons of mass destruction.

* Nuclear Stability in Southern Asia

The IPCS, in collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Foundation organized a one-day international conference which was attended by experts in the field of nuclear proliferation to assess the threats of a nuclear showdown in the sub-continent. The papers presented in the conference have been published in the form of a book. The project was completed in 2002.

* India's Energy Concerns

The IPCS, along with Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, conducted a one-day conference on India's Energy Concerns. Experts in the field of Coal, Gas, Hydro, and Nuclear energies were invited to present papers on their respective fields. The conference highlighted the importance of energy security in the overall framework of national security. The papers presented in the seminar have been published as a monograph. The project was completed in 2003.

* Missing Boundaries: Refugees, Migrants, Stateless and Internally Displaced Persons in South Asia

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, Asia Centre, New Delhi, organized a two-day regional conference in 2002 on the issue of displacement in South Asia including refugees, both environmental and forcibly displaced economic migrants, stateless persons and internally displaced persons. The papers presented at the conference have been published inn the form of a book. The project was completed in 2002.

* Indian Perspective to the Kashmir Conflict

The IPCS undertook a project funded by the International Crisis Group to provide an Indian Perspective to the Kashmir conflict with historical overviews and to discuss the strategies adopted by India, internally and externally. The study, has been published by the International Crisis Group as "Kashmir: The View From New Delhi", Asia Report No.69. The project was completed in 2003.

* Limited War between India and Pakistan under the Nuclear Shadow

The IPCS won a Solicited Grant from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) for research on the subject of Limited War. P R Chari, Stephen Cohen and Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema are the Principal Investigators. The study will culminate in a book.

* Biological Weapons: Conflicting Political and Economic Interests

The IPCS, supported by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, undertook a study on biological weapons reflecting the conflicting political and economic dimensions. The study culminated in a conference and the papers presented have been published in the form of a book. The project was completed in 2002.

* Terrorism and its Repercussions on International Politics

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung; abbreviation: FES), organized a two day conference at Manesar in December 2002 on the subject of terrorism. The lead papers and the conference document have been published as a book. The project was completed in 2003. The project was completed in 2003.

* Alternative Approaches to Different Aspects of Security in India

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Ford Foundation, USA, has undertaken a three-year project to study different aspects of security in India and has commissioned a four-part study on: Non-military challenges to security; Challenges to national integration; India's security problematique; and Governance and security. The study is in its advanced stages.

* Indo-US Relations

The IPCS undertook a study of the issues pertinent to Indo-US relations with the intention of drawing up a report on the lines of the Council on Foreign Relations and several other such reports published in the United States, however, with an Indo-centric orientation. The report, based on the inputs from eminent experts in the area, is online. The project was completed in 2002.

* Verification of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

On behalf of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Institute organized a one-day conference in 2002 on the problems and promises of verification of biological and toxin weapons. This conference was of added significance as it came just prior to the reopening of the BTWC Convention for ratification at Geneva. The outcome of the seminar has been published in the form of a book. The project was completed in 2002.

* Human Security in South Asia

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, Asia Centre, New Delhi, and the Bangladesh Institute for International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Dhaka, Bangladesh organized a South Asian conference in 2001 titled "Regional Conference on Human Security in South Asia: Evolving a Theoretical Perspective on Human Security," the end product of which has been published. The project was completed in 2002.

* Comprehensive and Co-operative Security in South Asia

Along with the Institute for Cooperation and Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, the IPCS undertook a project to identify the possibilities for building cooperative security in South Asia. The Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA) funded this project, which culminated in a book titled Security in South Asia. The project was completed in 1999.

* A New Paradigm of National Security for South Asia

In collaboration with the Ford Foundation, USA, the Institute undertook a two-year project to explore alternative paradigms of national security in South Asia, which culminated in a book titled Perspectives on National Security in South Asia: In Search of a New Paradigm. The project was completed in 1999.

Publications

IPCS publishes and distributes a monthly bulletin "Peace & Conflict" containing select documents, opinion articles and seminar reports from the website to opinion makers in India and abroad on a restricted basis.

IPCS also publishes scholarly research monographs and books authored and edited by its members of its faculty. Recent books authored or edited by distinguished IPCS faculty members are:

* Emerging Challenges in UN Peacekeeping Operations an Indo-Japanese Dialogue "Edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Ramesh Thakur"

* NATO and European Dialogues with India "Edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Aisha Saltanat"

* Trilateral Security Dialogue: India,China and Germany "Edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Jabin T.Jacob"

* EU-India Relations: Beginning a New Era "Edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee"

* Jammu and Kashmir - Charting A Future "Edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Suba Chandran"

* Rethinking Security, UN and the New Threats "Edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee"

* Indo-Pak Conflicts Ripe to Resolve? "By Rizwan Zeb and Suba Chandran"

* Alternative Approaches to Security, National Integration, Governance and Non-Military Challenges "By R. Radhakrishnan, Prafulla Ketkar and Aisha Sultanat"

* Small Arms and the Security Debate in South Asia "By Salma Malik and Mallika Joseph"

* Bio-Terrorism and Bio-defence "By P. R. Chari and Suba Chandran"

* Limited War - Revisiting Kargil in the Indo-Pak Conflict "By Suba Chandran"

* Study on India's Energy Security "By Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies and The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India"

* Missing Boundaries: Refugees, Migrants, Stateless and Internally Displaced Persons in South Asia "Edited by P. R. Chari, Mallika Joseph and Suba Chandran"

* Nuclear Stability in Southern Asia "Edited by P. R. Chari, Arpit Rajain and Sonika Gupta"

* Biological Weapons: Issues and Threats "Edited by P. R. Chari and Arpit Rajain"

* India-US Relations: Promoting Synergy "By Independent Core Group"

* Human Security in South Asia: Gender, Migration and Globalisation "Edited by P. R. Chari and Sonika Gupta"

* Working towards a Verification Protocol for Biological Weapons "Edited by P. R. Chari and Arpit Rajain"

* Security and Governance in South Asia "Edited by P. R. Chari"

* Simla Agreement of 1972 "Edited by P. R. Chari and Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema"

* Kargil: The Tables Turned "Edited by Major General Ashok Krishna and P. R. Chari"

* Lethal Fields: Landmines in South Asia "By Mallika Joseph and Suba Chandran"

* Perspectives on National Security in South Asia "Edited by P. R. Chari"

* Anti-Personnel Landmines: A South Asian Regional Survey "By Major General Dipankar Banerjee and Mallika Joseph"

* India: Towards Millennium "Edited by P. R. Chari"

* Comprehensive and Cooperative Security in South Asia "Edited by Major General Dipankar Banerjee

People

The following is a list of people associated with the IPCS:

Executive Committee Members

* Air Marshal Vinod Patney
* Major General Dipankar Banerjee
* Lieutenant General Abhimanyu Vohra
* Ambassador Eric Gonsalves
* Ambassador Lalit Mansingh
* Professor P. R. Chari
* Professor Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea
* Professor R. Rajaraman
* Professor Varun Sahni
* Dr C. Raja Mohan
* Mr Dhirendra Singh
* Mr Ajit Doval

Faculty Members

* Major General Dipankar Banerjee - Director
* Professor P. R. Chari - Research Professor
* Dr Mallika Joseph - Assistant Director
* Dr Suba D Chandran - Assistant Director
* Dr Jabin T. Jacob - Research Fellow
* Ms Devyani Srivastava - Research Officer
* Ms Rekha Chakravarthi - Research Officer
* Ms Sonali Huria - Research Officer

External links

* [http://www.ipcs.org Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies]
* [http://www.mod.nic.in Ministry of Defence, Government of India]
* [http://www.meaindia.nic.in Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India]