The Diplomat | Author

Mohamed Zeeshan
Mohamed Zeeshan is Editor-in-Chief of Freedom Gazette and author of “Flying Blind: India’s Quest for Global Leadership.”
Mohamed Zeeshan is a policy analyst and Editor-in-Chief of the Freedom Gazette, a policy advocacy site based in India. He is a regular writer on international affairs and his key areas of interest are Indian foreign policy, international political economy and economic development. He has previously served as a consultant to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York and advised governments in the Middle East on issues of economic reform and state-building. Zeeshan has previously written for The Diplomat, The National Interest, India Today and others, and currently writes regular columns on Indian and international politics for the Deccan Herald. He holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University where he also edited the Columbia Journal of International Affairs. Follow him on .

February 14, 2022
India Keeps Floating Away From Its Quad Partners
By Mohamed Zeeshan
On several critical geopolitical issues, including Myanmar, Ukraine, and North Korea, New Delhi’s position is different from that of the other Quad countries.

February 02, 2022
Modi’s Latest Budget Sets Out His Long-Term Vision for India
By Mohamed Zeeshan
Investment on infrastructure has been hiked by 35 percent over last year, indicating that this sector is the government’s first-choice job creator.

January 21, 2022
India Needs to Get Real About the Instability in Myanmar
By Mohamed Zeeshan
India's biggest diplomatic asset is its potential role as a mediator between the West and the Tatmadaw.

January 10, 2022
It’s Advantage China in the Indian Ocean
By Mohamed Zeeshan
Wang Yi’s visits to the Maldives and Sri Lanka signal Beijing’s priorities fairly clearly: it's focusing on South Asia and the Indian Ocean.

December 15, 2021
How Bangladesh’s Liberation Shook Up South Asia
By Mohamed Zeeshan
After 1971, there were expectations that South Asia would move on from religious nationalism – but the region has gone in the opposite direction.

December 13, 2021
Biden’s Exclusive Democracy Summit Disappoints
By Mohamed Zeeshan
By embracing some countries and excluding others, the US has squandered an opportunity to unite South Asia – at least ideologically – against Beijing.

November 15, 2021
South Asia Is Caught in a Majoritarian Whirlpool
By Mohamed Zeeshan
The pandemic, rising prices and food shortages have thrown up challenges for governments, and majoritarianism is an easy way to divert public attention from domestic woes.

November 04, 2021
There’s a New Quad in Town: India, Israel, US, UAE
By Mohamed Zeeshan
As part of the Middle East quad India will garner support from other member countries for its own interests but it might be forced to get off the fence on crucial and sensitive geopolitical debates.

October 18, 2021
How China Uses Development Finance Strategically in South Asia
By Mohamed Zeeshan
Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, Beijing has remade the idea of development aid.

October 01, 2021
India Still Has an Opportunity With Vaccine Diplomacy
By Mohamed Zeeshan
Several countries that received Chinese vaccines are questioning its efficacy and pricing.

September 20, 2021
India’s Confused Approach to Afghanistan
By Mohamed Zeeshan
New Delhi will need to institutionalize scenario planning in foreign policy making if it is keen to shape global events.

September 07, 2021
Can India Engage With the Taliban?
By Mohamed Zeeshan
While domestic politics and moral compulsions pull India away from the Taliban, its strategic interests will push it to engage with the new government in Kabul.
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