Symbiosis to host 11th international relations conference on November 25, 26

NEW DELHI: Symbiosis School for International Studies will be hosting the eleventh international relations conference (IRC) on November 25 and 26, 2023. The event will take place at the Symbiosis campus in Lavale, Pune. S Jaishankar, minister of external affairs will be present at the IRC as guest speaker.

This year's IRC will focus on India's strategic thinking and its effect on policy responses to global and regional issues, as seen through a non-western viewpoint. The two-day conference intends to engage in in-depth debates about the evolution of Indian strategic culture, with a focus on tackling global and regional problems.

Vidya Yeravdekar, chancellor, SIU states said, “To make the youth aware of the happenings around the world, Symbiosis International University has been organizing an IRC since 2012, in collaboration with the ministry of external affairs. The past conferences have hosted various stalwarts in the field of international relations, and this year, minister of external affairs S Jaishankar will address and interact with the youth.”

Emphasis on India's strategic thinking

The conference will begin with a debate centred on the late George K Tanham's research study on Indian notions of the State and statecraft. Tanham's work, based on his encounters with Delhi's security elite, has impacted the discourse on India's strategic thinking, notably his assertion of "Absence of strategic thinking" in the nation.

Apart from addressing immediate challenges, IRC 2023 aims to define the nature of International Relations (IR) studies in India. The conference will also include sessions on the evolution of Indian strategic thought, ethical and moral aspects of statecraft, geopolitics and warfare, ideas of nationhood and civilizational imagination, diplomatic practises in foreign policy, and the emergence of the Indian School of IR.

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Conversations on Raisina Dialogue 2023

Aligned with the G20 agenda 2023, the conference will focus on many facets of internationalism, such as warfare, geopolitics, conceptions of nationhood, diplomatic practises in foreign policy, and more. Furthermore, it aims to foster conversations on geopolitics, as indicated and explored in the Raisina Dialogue 2023, with the goal of addressing the most difficult global challenges through solution-based discussions with global executive decision-makers.

The participation of practitioners, professors, and students from international studies and other faculties will contribute to presentations and debates. The key notes of these debates and presentations will be gathered into a publication that will give new perspectives on India's strategic thinking.