Introduction

Dr Constantino Xavier is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), New Delhi, where he directs the programme in Foreign Policy and Security Studies. He is also a non-resident fellow in the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institution, in Washington DC, and visiting professor at Ashoka University’s Department of International Relations.

Dr Xavier’s research expertise is on India’s role as a regional power in South Asia, the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean regions, especially relations with Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. His studies under the CSEP Sambandh Initiative on Regional Connectivity have had wide impact with governments, industry and other stakeholders invested in enhancing India’s geoeconomic integration with neighbouring countries and regions, from the Gulf to Southeast Asia.

His broader work explores how India navigates the geopolitics of a changing regional and global order by balancing national security interests and growing economic interdependence. He also focuses on India’s relations with the European Union and other Indo-Pacific powers across the Global South. At CSEP, he is currently leading research projects on India’s connectivity partnerships, climate cooperation, critical minerals security and China’s role in South Asia.

Dr Xavier has published widely in academic books and journals on India’s foreign and security policies with a focus on state capacity, regional institutions, economic diplomacy, conflict resolution, democracy assistance and soft power. He regularly teaches, lectures and supervises research on foreign policy and strategic affairs at international universities and also at India’s diplomatic, administrative and military training institutions, including the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service and the National Defence College.

He has held fellowships at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and at the Observer Research Foundation and he has previously worked for Carnegie India and the Brookings Institution. He received research grants from the United States Fulbright programme and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, of which he is a Distinguished Alumni awardee.

Dr Xavier holds a PhD in South Asian studies from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, an MPhil and MA in International Politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a BA with undergraduate studies at Nova University Lisbon and Sciences Po Paris.

Areas of Interest and Expertise

• • Indian Foreign Policy
  • Geopolitics and International Security
  • Global Governance and Politics
  • Infrastructure and Connectivity
  • Economic Diplomacy
  • Climate
  • South Asia, Indo-Pacific and Europe