Moonis Ahmar (Urdu: مونس احمر) (b. 4 April 1959, Karachi) is a scholar of international relations and conflict resolution from Pakistan.
Ahmar holds MSc (1981) in International Relations from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad Pakistan in First Class First and M.Phil (1988) and PhD (1990) on European Security System in the Post-Helsinki Accords Period: A Model for South Asia from the University of Karachi.
Ist March 1983 to 31 October 1983. Senior Research Fellow, Area Study Center for Africa, North & South America, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.
3 November 1983 to 12 July 1984. Research Officer, The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs, Karachi.
14 July 1984 to 11 September 1988. Senior Research Fellow, Area Study Center for Europe, University of Karachi.
12 September 1988 to 28 February 1991 Assistant Professor, Area Study Center for Europe, University of Karachi.
28 February 1991 to 4 May 1997. Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi.
5 May 1997 to 1 January 2001. Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi.
1 January 2001 to date, professor, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi.
Visiting Scholar, Program in Arms Control, Disarmament & International Security (ACDIS) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA from 10 February to 10 June 1993.
Visiting Research Associate, Program in Arms Control, Disarmament & International Security, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 24 November 1994 to 20 May 1996. Also worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during Spring semester, 1995
Visiting Fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington DC from June–July 1997.
Scholar in Residence, Middle East Institute and Visiting Scholar, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC from 13 September to 10 October 1999.
Visiting Fellow at the Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana from 11 October to 14 December 1999.
Asia Fellow, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh from 7 January 2002 to 6 October 2002. Theme of research: “A Comparative Study of Pakistan and Bangladesh: Economic, Political and Cultural Dynamics.”
Visiting Fellow, Asia Research Center, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK from 7 February to 28 April 2004.
Visiting Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International and International Criminal Law, Freiburg, Germany from 2 June 2008.
Visiting Research Fellow, South Asia Program, Institute of Defense Studies, Rajaratram School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (18 December 2010 till 15 March 2011).
DAAD Fellow, Conflict Management and Studies Program, Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, University of Erfurt, Germany since 8 April 2011.
Life and career
Ahmar specialises in Conflict Resolution and Confidence-building measures with particular reference to Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia. He has also completed several research projects and has arranged and participated in many national, regional and international seminars/workshops/conferences. He has been invited as a guest speaker by various Staff Colleges including PAF Air War College, Karachi, National Defense College (Islamabad,) National Defense College Dhaka, Naval War College, Lahore, Command and Staff College, Quetta. He has also been invited by various TV channels as an expert for their Current Affairs programs. He holds membership of the several academic bodies and is on an editorial/advisory editorial board of various research journals. He has supervised four PhD students. Currently, two students are doing M.Phil/PhD research under his guidance.
Superpower Rivalry in the Indian Ocean since the withdrawal of Great Britain . (Karachi: Area Study Center for Europe, 1986. pp. 143).
The Soviet Role in South Asia:1969–87 (Karachi: Area Study Center for Europe, 1989), pp. 312.
Edited Books
Contemporary Central Asia (Edited), (Islamabad: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi and Hanns Seidel Foundation, 1995), pp. 256.
Internal and External Dynamics of South Asian Security (Edited), (Karachi: Faze, 1998), pp. 151.
The CTBT Controversy: Different Perceptions In South Asia (Edited) (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 2000), pp. 153.
The Challenges of Conflict Resolution and Security in 21 st Century (Edited) (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 2001).
Arab-Israeli Peace Process: Lessons for South Asia (Edited) (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2001.)
The Challenge of Confidence-Building in South Asia (Edited) (New Delhi: Har Anand Publications, 2001), pp. 440.
Paradigms of Conflict Resolution in South Asia (Edited) (Dhaka: University Press Limited, 2003).
The World after 11 September: Challenges and Opportunities (Edited) (Karachi: Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 2003). pp. 322
Different Perceptions on Conflict Resolution: Need for an Alternate Approach (Edited) (Karachi: Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 2005), pp. 297.
The Challenge of Rebuilding Afghanistan (Edited) (Karachi: Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad, 2005), pp. 240.
Conflict Management Mechanisms And The Challenge of Peace (Edited) (Karachi: Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad, 2008), pp. 174.
International Relations Today: Theories, Methods And Areas of Research (Edited) (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 2009), pp. 204.
Foreign Policy Making Process: A Case Study of Pakistan (Edited) (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad), pp. 159.
Early Warning Systems: Potential For Crisis Management And Regional Cooperation (Edited) (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad), pp. 213.
Conflict Resolution Research In South Asia (Edited) (Karachi: Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad, 2010), pp. 244.
The Restructuring of SAARC (Edited) (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad, 2010), pp. 188.
Conflict Transformation and the Challenge of Peace (Edited) Department of International Relations, University of Karachi in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad, 2011), pp. 244.
Confidence-Building Measures in South Asia Geneva: Program for Strategic and International Security Studies, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, 1991. pp. 45.
Indo-Pakistan Normalization Process: The Role of CBMs in the post-Cold War Era. Published as an Occasional Paper by Program In Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security, (ACDIS) University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA November 1993, pp. 1–19.
The Road To Peace In South Asia: Lessons For India And Pakistan From The Arab-Israeli Peace, Published as an Occasional Paper by the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament & International Security (ACDIS), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, August 1996, pp. 62.
Pakistan and Bangladesh: From Conflict To Cooperation Published as BIISS Papers, 19 by the Bangladesh Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Dhaka, March 2003, pp. 59. Also published by the Pakistan Study Center, University of Karachi.
