Founded in 2009, the South Asia Center expanded Atlantic Council’s analysis of the region. SAC has consistently engaged the robust research expertise of all sixteen Atlantic Council programs to offer a distinctive perspective on South Asia.
Today, under the leadership of Senior Director Kapil Sharma, SAC leverages our unique position at the Atlantic Council, in the heart of Washington DC, to serve as a platform promoting regional strengths, providing solutions to key issues, and exploring new areas of cooperation.
Stay in touch with SAC
India
2024 Elections
How will the US and Indian elections in 2024 affect the bilateral relationship? With India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka’s national elections, how will 2024 affect the decade ahead?
Digital Policy Framework
What are the domestic and international impacts of the ever-evolving digital policy framework in India?
Voice of the Global South
As India tries to have a louder voice in the Global South and comes out of a 2023 diplomatic blitz, how will India’s leadership be implemented?
India
The platform for analyzing the breadth and diversity of the US-India relationship, including pathways to economic growth, regional stability, and global aspirations.
Pakistan
2024 elections and current challenges
Pakistan is facing significant economic challenges, including around 30 percent inflation and declining growth, while depending on financial support from the IMF, China, and Saudi Arabia. Politically, the country is dealing with rising tensions, as former Prime Minister Imran Khan is being imprisoned and his rival Nawaz Sharif is returning from abroad. Simultaneously, it is navigating the complexities added by global events such as the US withdrawing from Afghanistan and the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas.
Pakistan
Founded in 2019, SAC’s Pakistan Initiative is the premier platform for conversations on the political economy of Pakistan. The initiative seeks to reaffirm support for and increase knowledge about Pakistan in the United States, as well as forge deeper ties between US policymakers, thought leaders, and the broader public with their counterparts in Pakistan. The core elements of the initiative help build an adapted, inclusive body of work that bridges the gap between the west and Pakistan by encouraging partnerships, free and fair trade, democratic values, and the core elements of the rules-based order.
South Asia
Afghanistan
With its projects, SAC is currently examining the impact of life under the taliban. The impact has been particularly heavy on the lives of women.
Bangladesh
Through its publishing and programming, SAC is analyzingthe impact of the 2024 elections, on the Bangladeshi economy, relations with India, United States and China.
South Asia
All of South Asia, except Afghanistan, has national elections in under a year. Maldives and Nepal had their elections in the second-half of 2023 while India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan go for national elections in the first-half of 2024.
South Asia
The Center’s projects cultivate dialogue, impact policy, and shed light on challenges and solutions as they relate to South Asian countries, and their interactions with each other, neighboring regions, Europe, the United States, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific region.
Leadership
@ACSouthAsia