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Shashank Joshi

Position: Research Fellow

Shashank Joshi is a Research Fellow at RUSI and a doctoral student of international relations at Harvard University's Department of Government. He specialises in international security in South Asia and the Middle East.

He holds Masters degrees from Cambridge and Harvard, and previously graduated with a Starred First in politics and economics from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University. During 2007-8, he was a Kennedy Scholar from Britain to the United States. 

He has taught as a supervisor and teaching fellow at both Cambridge and Harvard, and also worked for the the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Moscow on electoral analysis and democratic training projects,  Citigroup in New York in their regulatory reporting division,  and in RUSI's Asia Programme on India and global security issues. He is a graduate of the Columbia-Cornell Summer Workshop on the Analysis of Military Operations and Strategy (SWAMOS).

He has published peer-reviewed work in academic journals, commented on international affairs for radio and television, and written for newspapers including the New York Times, Financial Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, and Foreign Policy.

RUSI articles and analysis by this author

Terrorism and the evolution of Syria's uprising 11 May 2012
Though the perpetrators have not yet been identified, the latest terrorist attack in Syria suggests that the non-violent and insurgent strands of the uprising could both be overtaken by a campaign of indiscriminate violence.

New Delhi's New Missile: A Watershed for India's Nuclear Arsenal 20 Apr 2012
No Indian missile has been assigned as much political significance as the newly tested Agni-V. The ripening of India's second-strike capability will provide reassurance to India about the strategic balance, and indicate the direction of its nuclear forces.

Is a Nuclear Iran as Dangerous As We Think? 27 Feb 2012
Pessimists warn that a nuclear Iran cannot be safely contained. But these risks - irrational behaviour, nuclear safety, and further proliferation - need to be dispassionately assessed and put into context.

Iran and the West: Playing a Zero-Sum Game 11 Jan 2012
The killing of a nuclear scientist in Tehran may well be the latest in a line of skirmishes between Iran and its American-led adversaries. Both sides are playing a zero-game, and neither coercive actions nor more negotiations are likely to bring a durable settlement.

Aftershocks and Transitions: an Unashamedly Speculative Look at 2012 15 Dec 2011
If this year brought us an earthquake, then 2012 will be a year of aftershocks and transitions. Speculate as we might, we must still prepare for the predictable but watch for the surprises.

The Arab Spring Redux? The Egyptian Revolution returns with a vengeance 24 Nov 2011
Egypt's army cannot be allowed to hijack the revolution, and protesters will keep the pressure on. But what does that mean for elections, just days away?

What Qadhafi's death means 21 Oct 2011
The death of Colonel Qadhafi rids the world of a tyrant, but it is no milestone in the Arab Spring. To focus on the departed dictator is to miss the real story, and abstract notions of 'closure' won't magically translate into stable government.

A very special relationship: the US-Pakistan alliance darkens 26 Sep 2011
America's top military officer has accused Pakistan of helping to bomb a US embassy. US-Pakistan relations are about to enter a much darker phase.

Accidental Heroes: Britain, France and the Libya Operation - RUSI Interim Libya Campaign Report 23 Sep 2011
23/09/11: A RUSI report looks at the diplomatic, strategic and military aspects of the recent Libya campaign.

What Rabbani's death means for Afghanistan and the war 21 Sep 2011
Burhanuddin Rabbani has been killed. The first post-Soviet Afghan president was controversial throughout the last twenty years. His death is the latest in a series of setbacks that could pave the way to a deeper civil war.

Reasons to be cautiously optimistic about post-Qadhafi Libya 24 Aug 2011
Dire warnings of marauding rebels soaking Tripoli's streets with blood have simply not materialised, and are unlikely to do so. We should beware of unduly inflating the ghosts of Islamism, tribal factionalism and the chaos of Baghdad haunting the new Libya.

Troubled Waters: the Implications of China's First Aircraft Carrier 16 Aug 2011
Far from transforming Asia's naval balance, the launch of China's first aircraft carrier will only begin to expose China to the rigours of modern naval warfare. The region should respond to the strategic ripples by steering carefully between complacency and alarmism.

Hama Rules: the resilience of the Syrian Army 1 Aug 2011
As tanks roll into the Syrian town of Hama to crush opposition to President Assad, the international community has voiced its outrage at the ensuing human rights violations. But unlike Libya, words will not be followed up by deeds.

The Mumbai Blasts and the Indian Mujahideen 14 Jul 2011
The three bombs that tore through Mumbai add to the city's death toll from terrorism - 700 killed since 1993. If the Indian Mujahideen (IM) is responsible, it indicates the grave threat posed by domestic Indian groups plugged into international jihadi network.

Implications of the Karachi attack 23 May 2011
The co-ordinated attack on a Pakistani naval base, the latest assault on a military facility, raises deep questions about the security of the country's nuclear weapons and the endurance of Pakistan's relationship with China and the United States.

Libya: three scenarios and settlement 19 May 2011
Two months after intervention began, NATO's war in Libya has become an open-ended stalemate. A resolution requires compromises from each side rather than self-righteous declarations of total war. The balance of power does not permit a decisive victory for regime or rebels. A settlement must either reflect this fact, or give way to renewed fighting.

Osama bin Laden: Pakistan faces the music 4 May 2011
Even though diplomatic tension simmers between Pakistan and the United States over the death of Bin Laden, the tension may well be short-lived. Islamabad will continue its narrative of ignorance; Washington, in turn, will continue to fictionalise Pakistan's sovereignty as it reaps the fruits of Operation Geronimo.

Stalemate in Libya: will advisers and drones tip the balance? 23 Apr 2011
Western intervention in Libya appears to be stalling, and the coalition has responded by committing military advisers and drones. But their priority, for the time being, is to purchase coalition longevity at the price of campaign intensity.

Libya: A first step towards full military involvement? 20 Apr 2011
As the UK sends military officers to advise Libyan rebels, RUSI analysts assesses the merits of the latest phase in the international intervention in Libya.

Reflections on the Arab Revolutions: Order, Democracy and Western Policy 8 Apr 2011
As uprisings and revolutions continue apace across the Middle East, the West needs to re-evaluate its long-held approach to the region

The Feasible Option for Libya 14 Mar 2011
A no-fly zone is mired in political obstacles. Those states with a moral and strategic interest in forestalling a Qadhafi victory ought to step around that diplomatic morass. Assistance to the rebels - even non-lethal and non-tangible - is a feasible and effective option.

ARGUMENTS FOR a No Fly Zone over Libya 3 Mar 2011
As the Qadhafi regime unleashes slow-motion slaughter in Libya, a no-fly zone is the most compelling response, particularly in the face of growing demands for limited assistance from Libyans themselves. Critics of such an idea have yet to explain why the limited efficacy of NFZs means that they ought to be shunned altogether, or why a time-limited NFZ cannot be later withdrawn if proven impotent.

The Fourth Wave? Democracy in Egypt 14 Feb 2011
Egypt is guaranteed neither a democratic nor a stable future, but the status quo had already failed in these respects. The transitional authorities need to sustain the democratic pressure of the uprising in order to meet the challenges ahead.

Notes on a Revolution 31 Jan 2011
With unrest in Tunisia and Egypt increasingly being referred to as the tip of an iceberg, Western nations, and the activists themselves, should draw lessons from the past as they consider the future of an unsettled region.

Obama and India: A Robust Relationship 24 Nov 2010
The view that Obama is stumbling over the subject of India is wrong

Growing Pains: The Sino-Japanese Naval Dispute in Context 21 Sep 2010
China’s recent vituperative reaction to the Japanese seizure of a trawler reflects a new and troubling assertiveness that places at risk the benign and conciliatory image it has assiduously cultivated in recent years.

With allies like this: what the Wikileaks war logs say about Pakistan 28 Jul 2010
While Wikileaks’ widely-publicised military leak has turned the media spotlight onto Pakistan, the country’s involvement in Afghanistan will come as little surprise to coalition troops. The unfavourable timing of the leak, however, together with its substantial effect on public support for the war, means that Washington must act now to bring Pakistan back onto side.

The Afghan endgame: retrospect and prospect 2 Jul 2010
The sacking of General Stanley McChrystal has highlighted the widening fault-lines of the Afghanistan war. Rising casualties, weakening public resolve, faltering counterinsurgency and political stagnation have all compounded a series of errors made in the years after the initial invasion of Afghanistan. The war is being lost, and the contours of the endgame are emerging.

India and the Four Day War 7 Apr 2010
The Indian military is caught between preparing for conventional war against neighbouring powers, Pakistan and China, and reorganising as an asymmetric deterrent against cross-border terrorism. It seems they are struggling on both counts.

Defence Transformation in India 17 Mar 2010
With a plethora of unexpected delays and costs, India’s emergence as a major international military actor may take longer than expected

What does the Baradar arrest mean? 3 Mar 2010
The arrest of the Afghan Taliban leader has been heralded as a significant development in Washington's effort to disrupt the insurgency and a sign that Islamabad is abandoning the Taliban. But a closer look at the evidence demonstrates that his capture indicates neither a Pakistani break with militancy, nor an easing of the path ahead for the war in Afghanistan.

India's Af-Pak Strategy 25 Feb 2010
India is playing a key role in the Afghan conflict. But its animosity with Pakistan threatens this contribution, and the US has been unable to choose a long-term partner

Droning on: the American bolt from the blue 8 Feb 2010
The latest Quadrennial Defense Review promises to increase the numbers, sophistication and use of unmanned aerial vehicles, known as drones. Their use has rendered the boundaries of the theatres of war more fluid, requiring the rapid integration of this weapon to be piloted more carefully than ever before.

India and Iran: A Pragmatic Alliance 26 Jan 2010
India’s traditional emphasis on foreign policy autonomy means that its deepening military and security ties with Iran should not be viewed as a surprise

Sixty-five thousand tonnes of ambition 10 Dec 2009
Recent reports of Indian intentions to purchase an aircraft carrier from Britain would not substantially add to India's ambitions to be a global power. However, the rumours are symbolic of India's delicate strategic balancing act as it shifts its focus to China.

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