South Asia Research & Reports

Report Oct 3, 2022

Pakistan sees growing culture of innovation amid tech startup boom

By Hamna Tariq and Uzair Younus

A tightening global macro environment coupled with increasing domestic political instability is a cause of concern for the sector, especially the domestic startup economy.
Economy & Business Entrepreneurship
South Asia Research & Reports

Report Sep 27, 2022

Afghanistan under the Taliban: Regional recalibrations, challenges, and ways forward

By Hameed Hakimi

Despite the spectacular and unprecedented events following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the global spotlight steadily shifted away from the country.
Afghanistan Economy & Business
South Asia Research & Reports

Issue Brief Sep 9, 2022

Supporting Afghan refugees: A case for cultural sensitivity and humility in resettlement practices

By Halima Ahmadi-Montecalvo, Amanda Terry, Belquis Ahmadi

In recognition of the one-year anniversary of the Taliban retaking control of Afghanistan, the authors of this publication seek to raise awareness of the whole person needs of settled refugees in the United States by highlighting experiences of a number of newly resettled Afghan refugees.
Afghanistan Politics & Diplomacy

A transatlantic charter of Afghanistan

Supporting peace, security, and sovereignty in Afghanistan

The participants of the Atlantic Council / Rockefeller Brothers Fund Strategic Dialogues have been working for the past eight months to develop a long-term strategic outlook to promote stability in Afghanistan consistent with Afghan, US, and European interests and values. This group of distinguished European, American, and Afghan diplomats, military officers, scholars, and analysts brought to our deliberations a deep understanding of the context both on the ground and among the allies. We explored a diplomatic-security framework based on the minimal conditions and variables necessary to realize a long-term vision of a sovereign, unified, democratic, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan and generated recommendations to support this vision.

The South Asia Center is the hub for the Atlantic Council’s analysis of the political, social, geographical, and cultural diversity of the region. ​At the intersection of South Asia and its geopolitics, SAC cultivates dialogue to shape policy and forge ties between the region and the global community.

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All In-Depth Research and Reports

Issue Brief

Apr 27, 2015

Reimagining Pakistan’s militia policy

By Yelena Biberman

If ever a turning point seemed inevitable in Pakistan’s militia policy, it was in the aftermath of the Peshawar school massacre in December 2014. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killed 152 people, 133 of them children, in the bloodiest terrorist attack in Pakistan’s history. The carnage sparked an unprecedented national dialogue about the costs and contradictions of […]

Arms Control Conflict
Gandhi and Jinnah

Report

Apr 24, 2014

India and Pakistan: The opportunity cost of conflict

By Shuja Nawaz and Mohan Guruswamy

A report released today by the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center argues that heavy military spending in India and Pakistan has in fact been detrimental to the citizens of both countries in terms of security and economic growth, and calls on leaders to reinvest in trade and confidence building. In India and Pakistan: The Opportunity […]

Defense Policy India

Issue Brief

Nov 8, 2013

Resolving regional sources of instability

By Fatemeh Aman and Barbara Slavin

Iran, Afghanistan, and South Asia While attention focuses on US nuclear talks with Iran, an improved US-Iran relationship could have major benefits for another US priority: shoring up stability in Afghanistan during the 2014 withdrawal of most US and NATO forces. A new South Asia Center issue brief by Fatemeh Aman and Barbara Slavin, “Iran, […]

Afghanistan Iran

Issue Brief

Oct 4, 2012

India’s water challenges

By Suresh Prabhu

The Water Conflict in South Asia project announces the release of its second issue brief, “India’s Water Challenges,” by Mr. Suresh Prabhu, elected member of India’s Parliament. The brief describes how India’s internal dynamics, such as the country’s growing population as well as increasing agricultural and industrial demands, have affected India’s water supplies. It concludes […]

Conflict India

Issue Brief

Oct 1, 2012

Water insecurity: A threat for Pakistan and India

By Shahid Ahmad

The South Asia Center’s Water Conflict in South Asia project announces the release of its first issue brief, “Water Insecurity: A Threat for Pakistan and India,” by Dr. Shahid Ahmad, chief scientist at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council. The brief provides an overview of water security issues in Pakistan, the impact of the Indus Water […]

India Pakistan
Delivery Truck

Issue Brief

Nov 23, 2011

Prospects and challenges for increasing India-Pakistan trade

By Ishrat Husain

Ishrat Husain, dean and director of the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, Pakistan, authored the latest South Asia Center issue brief titled “Prospects and Challenges for Increasing India-Pakistan Trade.” In the face of massive economic challenges, a burgeoning population, energy and water shortages, and huge and growing numbers of unemployed workers, especially youth, Pakistan […]

India Pakistan

Report

Feb 1, 2011

Learning by doing: The Pakistan army’s experience with counterinsurgency

By Shuja Nawaz

In the South Asia Center report “Learning by Doing: The Pakistan Army’s Experience with Counterinsurgency,” Center Director and author Shuja Nawaz examines the doctrinal shift toward counterinsurgency (COIN) that has taken place in the Pakistan army in recent years. The army appears to have learned many lessons from its experiences in Swat in 2008 and […]

Extremism Pakistan
Man in front of Pakistan flag

Report

Jun 28, 2010

Pakistan in the danger zone

By Shuja Nawaz

The Atlantic Council presents the executive summary from its new report, Pakistan in the Danger Zone: a Tenuous U.S.-Pakistan Relationship by Shuja Nawaz, Director of the Council’s South Asia Center. The Afghanistan war may be lost on the battlefields of Pakistan, where a vicious conflict is now being fought by Pakistan against a homegrown insurgency […]

Pakistan Politics & Diplomacy
Pakistan soldiers

External

Jun 11, 2010

The Afghanistan-Pakistan theater: Militant Islam, security & stability

What is the optimal strategy for the United States and its allies to pursue in Afghanistan? Observers across the political spectrum agree that military operations alone are not enough to secure Afghanistan against a powerful insurgency linked to global jihadism. There is increasing consensus as well that Pakistan – a refuge for important al-Qaeda figures, […]

Afghanistan Extremism
AfghanistanReportCover

Report

Apr 22, 2009

Afghanistan report: A ten-year framework for the future

Describing the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan as increasingly perilous, President Obama has committed his administration to enhancing the military, governance, and economic capacity of the two countries.  Chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness and former Afghan Minister of Finance Dr. Ashraf Ghani outlines a medium-term framework for state-building in Afghanistan for the Atlantic Council […]

Afghanistan Politics & Diplomacy