Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

Research

IPCS focuses on a range of traditional and non-traditional security challenges. IPCS endeavours to nurture the next generation of scholars from India and beyond. The research is broadly divided into the following thematic & geographic categories -

· Nuclear Security

· Southeast Asia

· China & East Asia

· Internal and Regional Security

· Military & Defence

· Economics

Funding, Projects and Independence

The IPCS is involved in many projects relating to contemporary international affairs. It has received project support from various establishments that include the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Alton Jones Foundation, the Ploughshares Fund, the Japan Foundation, Nuclear Threat Initiative and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

While IPCS receives funding from various government agencies and private sources, its policy recommendations do not subscribe to any particular political view or interest. The Institute is dedicated to independent and non-partisan research and analysis.

A list of some of the projects undertaken by the Institute in recent years include:

This project is supported by the United Nations Foundation to facilitate the task of the United Nations High Level Threat Panel. As a part of the project, a three-day international conference was held in July 2004 at the Taj Palace, New Delhi. The proceedings of the conference are being prepared for publication (as of 2007).

The IPCS was awarded a project by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on bio-defence and biological terrorism. Its purpose was to examine the threat of biological weapons being used by terrorists and the role of the government, the private sector and civil defense management in countering this threat. A one-day seminar for 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 dialogue was organized by the Institute at Manesar in February 2004. A book about this project is to be published. (as of 2007).

This project, supported by the Ploughshares Fund, aims to encourage an alternative discourse on weapons of mass destruction through wider distribution of IPCS publications and providing capacity building to younger scholars.

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

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, organized a one-day international conference which was attended by experts in the field of nuclear proliferation to assess the threat 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.

The IPCS, along with the 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 focused upon 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.

The IPCS, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation and the Asian Centre for Human Rights, 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. A book containing papers presented at the conference has been published. The project was completed in 2002.

The IPCS undertook a project funded by the International Crisis Group to provide an Indian perspective to the Kashmir conflict, with historical overviews and discussion of both the internal and external strategies adopted by India. The study was published by the International Crisis Group as "Kashmir: The View From New Delhi", Asia Report No.69. The project was completed in 2003.

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 P. Cohen and Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema are the principal investigators. The study will culminate in a book.

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.

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 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 and national integration from a security standpoint. The study was in its advanced stages in 2007.

The IPCS undertook a study of the issues pertinent to Indo-U.S. relations with the intention of drawing up a report along the lines suggested by the Council on Foreign Relations and several other such reports previously published in the United States, with an Indo-centric orientation. The report, based on input from experts in the field, has been published online. The project was completed in 2002.

On behalf of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the Institute organized a one-day conference in 2002 on the problems of monitoring and verifying biological and toxic weapons. The significance of this conference was increased as it occurred just prior to the reopening of the BTWC Convention in Geneva. The outcome of the seminar has been published in the form of a book. The project was completed in 2002.

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

Along with the Indian Council for 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 entitled "Security in South Asia". The project was completed in 1999.

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 entitled "Perspectives on National Security in South Asia: In Search of a New Paradigm." The project was completed in 1999.

Publications

As an independent think-tank, the IPCS believes in promoting alternative approaches to security issues. Over the years, the Institute has established a reputation for the quality of its publications. Besides individual publications by its faculty, over the past decade, more than 40 books on wide-ranging subjects have been published.

The most regular publications are real-time op-ed style commentaries on current issues. On an average, the IPCS publishes 35-40 commentaries each month. Research Papers, Special Reports and Issue Briefs, which are longer papers of varying lengths, are also published. In addition, it hosts monthly columns written by a roster of eminent experts and scholars from across South Asia. IPCS also publishes scholarly research monographs and books authored and edited by the members of its faculty.

The IPCS website is a repository of information and real-time commentary on security issues and consistently has among the highest viewership of any public policy think-tank in India

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