South Asia

State of the Order: Assessing April 2021

The State of the Order breaks down the month's most important events impacting the democratic world order.

An Afghanistan at peace could connect South and Central Asia

By Emily Carll

Afghanistan’s potential as a contributor to development and prosperity in Asia has gone unrealized. If it were a stable neighbor, as the current Afghan peace process is meant to make it, Afghanistan could harness its potential as the “heart of Asia” and connect the South and Central Asian regions.

Event recap: “Understanding Russian and Iranian perspectives on the Afghan peace process”

By Emily Carll

On May 28, 2021, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, the Eurasia Center, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty hosted an event to discuss Russian and Iranian perspectives on the Afghan Peace Process.

How to leverage the Quad to counter China’s Digital Sinosphere

By Mark Linscott, Anand Raghuraman

China’s growing ambition to recode the rules of cyberspace should serve as a wake-up call for the Indo-Pacific’s leading digital democracies to cooperate.

Event recap: “Post-pandemic South Asia: How the COVID-19 pandemic will affect Bangladesh’s politics, economy, and healthcare”

By Kaveri Sarkar

An event recap/analysis on the wide-ranging conversation hosted by the South Asia Center on the future of Bangladesh’s economic, political, and healthcare landscapes in the context of the evolving COVID-19 landscape.

Reality Check #6: The consequences of an ‘America First’ vaccine policy

By Evan Cooper, Mathew Burrows

The Biden administration has been slow to distribute surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries in need or to facilitate foreign manufacturing of vaccines, squandering a diplomatic opportunity and potentially endangering US security.