CONTENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS 1

EVENTS 2

PUBLICATIONS 4

N E W S L E T T E R ISSUE NO. 01 | 2015

Change of Address As of 1 January 2015, RCSS has moved to a new premises. We are now located at: 20/73, Fairfield Gardens, Colombo 08, Sri Lanka.

Minna Thaheer appointed as Acting Executive Director Following the end of Dr Mallika Joseph’s successful tenure as the Executive Director of RCSS on 31 December 2014, Ms Minna Thaheer was appointed as the Acting Executive Director with effect from 1 January 2015. Ms Thaheer was Associate Director, RCSS and is a Doctoral Candidate, in Political Science, at the University of Colombo. She was a recipient of NUFU PhD Scholarship from University of Oslo (2008 to 2011). Minna has over 10 years of programme management and research experience in conflict, post-conflict reconciliation, peace, humanitarian and development related areas. Her areas of work/research are: conflict and peace, politics, democracy, governance and South Asian regional relations. She was also a visiting Lecturer in Political Science, University of Colombo.

RCSS Ranks Amongst the Top Think Tanks in the World The Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) is proud to announce that it has secured eight (8) ranks in the 2014 Global Think Tank Index Report complied by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme (TTCSP), University of Pennsylvania, USA. The report was launched globally on 22 January 2014 at an event co-hosted by the United Nations and the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. RCSS has been ranked in the following categories:

Top Think Tanks Worldwide (US and Non US); Top Defence and National Security Think Tank; Top Foreign Policy and International Affairs Think Tank; Best Think Tank Conference; Best Think Tank Network; Best Use of Social Network; Think Tank to Watch; Top Think Tank in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The Global Think Tank Index Report is a result of one of the largest and most comprehensive survey of over 6,600 think tanks and with in consultation with over 20,000 journalists , policymakers, public and private donors, think tanks and functional and regional area specialists.

Ms. Minna Thaheer

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OVERVIEW OF RCSS EVENTS

RCSS wound up the year with three main events. RCSS continued its role strengthening and promoting

regional cooperation through facilitating the 15th round of Chaophraya Dialogue, an Indo-Pak Track II

Dialogue. The RCSS Annual General Meeting and the farewell reception for the outgoing Executive

Director, Dr. Mallika Joseph were held in December 2014. This section provides a more in depth look at

the events that took place in the last quarter.

15th Round of the Chaophraya Dialogue An Indo-Pak Track II Initiative | 8—9 December 2014 Key opinion makers from India and Pakistan, including parliamentarians, former diplomats, former military officers, media persons and policy experts met in Krabi, Thailand for the 15th round of the Chaophraya Dialogue from 8–9 December 2014, organised by the Jinnah Institute (JI) and the Australia India Institute (AII) in collaboration wit the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.

The most recent round of the dialogue was held in the backdrop of tensions along the Line of Control and Boundary/International Border and elections in Jammu & Kashmir. In this context, the dialogue focused on issues such as on recent bilateral developments, the issue of Jammu &Kashmir, tensions along the Line of Control and Working Boundary/International Border, terrorism and extremism, trade and development, and the future of Afghanistan. Special focus was also placed on the role of Track II diplomacy as an instrument of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The Chaophraya Dialogue is the longest consistently running Indo-Pak Track-II jointly administered by the Jinnah Institute and Australia India Institute to encourage informed policy dialogue on Indo-Pak relations. The process is now in its sixth year and has so far led to 15 rounds of dialogue. Indian Delegates: Dr Ajay Darshan Behera; Ms Suhasini Haidar; Dr Happymon Jacob; Dr Mallika Joseph; Prof Amitabh Mattoo; Amb Jayant Prasad; Amb Hardeep Puri; Amb Meera Shankar; Amb K C Singh; Mr Praveen Swami; Mr Siddharth Varadarajan; Dr Arvind Virmani. Pakistani Delegates: Maj Gen Athar Abbas; Mr Khusro Bakhtyar; Amb Salman Bashir; AVM Shahzad Chaudhry; Lt Gen Tariq Ghazi; Mr Ejaz Haider; Mr Fahd Humayun; Amb Aziz Ahmad Khan; Dr Simbal Khan; Amb Sherry Rehman; Dr Asad Sayeed; Mr Mosharraf Zaidi; Mr Salman Zaidi;

Participants of the 15th round of the Chaophraya Dialogue in Krabi, Thailand.

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Farewell Reception for Outgoing Executive Director Mirage Hotel, Colombo 06, Sri Lanka | 17 December 2014 A farewell reception for Dr Mallika Joseph, Executive Director of RCSS was held immediately succeeding the Annual General Meeting at the Mirage Hotel, Colombo 06. Dr Joseph ended her successful three year tenure as the seventh Executive Director of RCSS in December 2014. She is the youngest and the first female Executive Director in RCSS’ history. Dr Joseph has made a significant contribution to strengthening RCSS’ presence in the region. Under her direction, RCSS consistently ranked in the several categories of the Global Think Tank Index Report and fostered strong links with other regional stakeholders and think tanks. Most significantly, she is credited with the revival of the RCSS Summer Workshop after a period of eight years. We wish Dr Joseph the very best in all her future endeavours!

Annual General Meeting of RCSS Mirage Hotel, Colombo 06, Sri Lanka | 17 December 2014 The Annual General Meeting of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies was held on 17 December 2014 at the Mirage Hotel, Colombo 06. Mr S B Attugoda was unanimously elected by those present to chair the 2014 AGM. The minutes of the 2013 AGM and the audited financial accounts were reviewed and adopted by the members. Dr Mallika Joseph then provided a brief overview of the activities carried out by RCSS in 2014. She highlighted the heightened level of engagement with the region and in particular, the revival of the Summer Workshop series. Following which, the programme staff and the librarian provided a detailed report on the different programmes, projects, activities, research and public outreach event.

L to R: Amb Geetha De Silva, Prof R A Ariyaratne, Prof Amal Jayawardane, Mr Dilip Kodikara and Amb Nihal Rodrigo at the AGM

L to R: Mr M D D Peiris presents Dr Joseph with a memento; Guests and Staff at the farewell reception

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PUBLICATIONS — RCSS POLICY STUDIES SERIES

RCSS is proud to announce the launch of the Policy Studies 56—61 of the RCSS Policy Studies Series. The

monographs are the culmination of research undertaken by the recipients of the Kodikara and Mahabub-

ul-Haq Awards.

SECURITY OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS: INDIA’S ROLE IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY Venkateshwaran Lokanathan This monograph traces the critical factors that influenced the advent of nuclear weapons. It deals at length on how rational nations have irrationally pursued of power and security to increase influence over each other’s decision making. The paper also simultaneously attempts to examine various influential determinants for the emergence of violent non-state actors and deals at length on the attendant implications of their rise by focusing specifically on various mechanisms by which such groups can get nuclear weapons.

US $6 + Shipping

Nuclear Learning in South Asia: The Levels of Analysis Rabia Akhtar and Debak Das This monograph traces the South Asian experience with nuclear weapons from the period of ‘recessed deterrence’ in the 1980s to the various crises under the nuclear umbrella that have followed since. It makes a case for understanding nuclear learning not only through the prism of experiences vis-à-vis each other but also through the collective experience of in-teracting with the NPT regime at the international level.

US $6 + Shipping

The Discourse of Dissent in the Nepali Media Daya Raj Subedi In this monograph , the author provides a comprehensive analysis of how the media has dealt with political upheavals in Nepal. The study makes two basic arguments—the media can play a substantial role in regime change and it can only fuel the death of an already dying regime. It essentially focuses on the role of media in the people uprisings i.e. April uprising and Madhesh uprising and the peace process in Nepal.

US $6 + Shipping

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The Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) is a South Asian regional think-tank based in Colombo For more information, please contact:

Regional Centre for Strategic Studies,

20/73, Fairfield Gardens, Colombo 08, Sri Lanka Tel: +94 11 2690914; Fax: +94 112690769

Email: rcss@rcss.org; Website: www.rcss.org

Politics in Nepal: Monarchy, Democracy and Governance Sunil Pradhan This study examines contemporary problems associated with the nation-building process in Nepal. It shows that the ongoing democratic consolidation including the Constituent Assembly elections exhibits a remarkable and unique form of inter-relationship between ethnic, cultural and political groupings, thereby making governance problematic and complex.

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Understanding and Addressing the Administrative Aspect of Pakistan;s Civil-Military Imbalance Ilhan Niaz This monograph examines Pakistan’s trouble record of civil-military relations form the perspective of history. It holds that Pakistan’s problems are not unique while emphasizing the importance of seeing the civil component of the equation in an administrative as well as political light. It goes beyond dissection of the problem to prescription and charts a course for Pakistan that might allow for the gradual and meaningful restoration of civilian ascendancy in the Pakistani policy.

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Connectors and Dividers: The Challenges and Prospects for Conflict Transformation in Kashmir and Sri Lanka Shweta Singh and Marie Nissanka This monograph aims to provide a comparative analysis of societal Connectors and Dividers (C & D) that have the potential to inform policy. This empirical work utilises the C&D analytical tool within Do No Harm Framework (Anderson 1999), in order to uncover the hidden potential within the tool to aid policy implementation at a national level, and to provide pathways for Conflict Transformation in Kashmir and Sri Lanka.

US $6 + Shipping

The RCSS Policy Studies Series is available at the library and also available for purchase. Please contact Ms. Kamani Perera on librarian@rcss.org to order copies of these books.