The Chinese discourse on ‘Brazil-Russia-India-China’ (BRIC): An Indian Perception

ASIA FORUM with Dr. Jagannath P. Panda

Research Fellow, IDSA, New Delhi, India

Thursday, November 4, 2010, 10:00-12:00

Speculation abounds whether the rise of BRIC will disrupt and depose the existing world order. The rise of BRIC as an organization is increasingly confirming that a change is afoot in the current world order. But this notion is only half the picture; the other half of the picture, equally important is the rise and influence of both China & India and their amalgamation under one umbrella, which is the most momentous development of the first half of the twenty-first century. Given the assorted character of its member states, the success of BRIC will to a great extent depend upon the role and rise of China and India’s accommodation. Although there is tremendous scope for BRIC to rise, the fundamental differences of approach of its constituent states remain possible hurdles. Rising competition & conflict between China and India, the continued weight of USA in individual BRIC countries’ foreign policy dialogue and the potential for intra-BRIC conflict for global resources adds to these complexities. Given the complexities that rising powers pose in global politics; order of the world would heavily depend upon how the two great Asian powers (China & India) decide to live with each other.

Dr. Jagannath P. Panda is Research Fellow (rank of Associate Professor) at the premier Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA), an autonomous body of the Govt. of India, New Delhi. His current research focus is- “The emerging competition between China and India in Asia”. His other research interests are: BRIC, Sino-Indian Relations, Maritime Security, Tibet and the “Rise of China & India in Asia”. He is also the Managing Editor of the Peace and Development Digest of the Foundation for Peace and Sustainable Development, New Delhi. Prior to joining at IDSA, Dr. Panda worked as Centrally Administered Fellow at the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of HRD, New Delhi, India. He received his doctoral degree from the School of International Studies (SIS) of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is a recipient of the V.K.Krishna Menon memorial Medal for his excellent academic record in international law and diplomacy from the Indian Society of International Law (ISIL), New Delhi. His writings have been published in various forms in peer-reviewed journals like: Strategic Analyses (Routledge), China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly (Silk Road Studies) China Report (Sage), Asian Politics and Policy (Wiley-BlackWell), Asian Ethnicity (Routledge) etc. He has also published in other international and national journals/newspapers like: China Brief (Jamestown Foundation), Taiwan Journal (Taipei), World Focus, Mainstream, The Pioneer, The Hindu etc. Dr. Panda was an institutional fellow at the SIIS, Shanghai from June 2009 to September 2009; and a visiting faculty at the National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan from May 2010 to July 2010. He has worked as a lead member on various Task-Force projects from DRDO and Govt. of India on issues related to China and Tibet. He is the author of the book titled- China’s Path to Power: Party, Military, and the politics of State Transition (Pentagon Security International; 2010). Currently, he is a Visiting Research Fellow with the Asia Program at ISDP where he will stay for three months, his stay is funded by the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT).
Location: ISDP, Västra Finnbodavägen 2, Stockholm-Nacka. For a map and directions, please go here.
To attend: RSVP to Ms. Martina Klimesova at mklimesova@isdp.eu