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Fast Thinking

Feb 1, 2021

FAST THINKING: A coup in Myanmar

By Atlantic Council

The military is back in control after detaining Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto civilian leader, and senior members of her ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Civil-rights activists have been detained as well. How did this happen?

Indo-Pacific Politics & Diplomacy

SouthAsiaSource

Jan 26, 2021

Understanding “rape culture” in Bangladesh, India, & Pakistan

By Rudabeh Shahid, Kaveri Sarkar, and Azeem Khan

Countless examples of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Asia from last year raise significant concerns about so-called “progress” made in improving women’s standing and fighting rape culture in the region. Political discourse in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is deeply misguided regarding such issues, often leading to systematic victim-blaming which—knowingly or unknowingly—helps the perpetrators.

Bangladesh Civil Society

New Atlanticist

Nov 6, 2020

A zero-sum game: What can we expect during the upcoming elections in Myanmar?

By Rudabeh Shahid

While Myanmar gained attention for the restoration of some democratic rights in 2010 following years of military rule, the upcoming election is at risk of undermining this progress amid widespread political repression and human rights violations. There is strong evidence that the elections will be neither free, fair, nor inclusive, as a result of the suppression of free speech, use of hate speech, and cancellation of voting in several regions.

Coronavirus Democratic Transitions

Dr. Rudabeh Shahid is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center and a senior consultant at the European Institute for International Law and International Relations. Shahid is also a visiting assistant professor of politics at Oberlin College. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow and visiting assistant professor at the Department of Political Science at the New College of Florida, and a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Politics at the University of York. Additionally, she teaches and moderates courses on South Asia at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the US Department of State.

Shahid is a multidisciplinary scholar who studies South Asia, combining the lens of political science, anthropology, and history. Her research portfolio includes geopolitical, ethnic, and migration issues in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and India. Over the years, her research has focused on civil society in post-partition South Asia and wider international relations of the region, including the situation concerning the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis and issues of statelessness and disenfranchisement developing in India’s north-eastern state of Assam. Beyond academia, Shahid has published in various international policy and media outlets including at the Atlantic Council, NBC News, the Diplomat, the East Asia Forum, South Asian Voices, 9DashLine, and E-International Relations. Additionally, she has been interviewed and her opinions have been cited by global news outlets including at the Washington Post, Now This News, and PBS Newshour. 

Shahid holds a PhD from the School of Government and International Affairs of Durham University, a MA in international relations from the University of Sussex, and a BA from Middlebury College.