Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali teaches anthropology, international development and human security courses at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown and George Washington universities. Dr. Ali is also a research consultant and academic with two decades of experience working in a “developing countries” context. He provides expert testimony for South Asian asylum seekers in the United Kingdom and the United States, and he writes a weekly column for the Express Tribune (an affiliate of The New York Times in Pakistan).
In this episode of The New Lines Institute’s Contours podcast series, Content Manager Minna Jaffery-Lindemulder is joined by Indian subcontinent experts Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali and Akhil Bery for an in-depth look at the geopolitics of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Indian Subcontinent as a whole.
As Sri Lanka struggles with an economic crisis and social and political unrest, the United States has a chance to step in and support stability in the island nation.
Increasing political violence and decreasing rights for citizens plague the South Asian country, but the United States can use bilateral relations, punitive measures for anti-democratic actions, and aid on issues such as climate change to support Bangladesh and help reverse its slide toward authoritarianism.
The U.S. sees India as a growing partner in great-power competition. But the BJP-led descent into ethno-majoritarian rule could rapidly destabilize all of South Asia.
