Dr. Deepika Saraswat is Associate Fellow at the West Asia Center. Her research interests include Iran’s geopolitics in Middle East and Eurasia and interpenetration of religion and politics in postcolonial contexts. Her research project at MP-IDSA is on ‘Iran’s Asian Orientation: Quest for Status and Regional Cooperation.Dr. Saraswat has a PhD in Political Geography from Centre for International Politics Organisation and Disarmament, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Earlier, Dr. Saraswat was Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs (March 2018-October 2021). Her book titled ‘Between Survival and Status: The Counter-hegemonic Geopolitics of Iran’ was jointly published by the Indian Council of World Affairs and Macmillan Education in January 2022.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Deepika Saraswat’s article ‘Iran-Israel conflict no longer a shadow war' has been published in Hindustan Times on 22 April 2024.
Iran’s direct retaliation against Israel marks the end of the shadow war and the beginning of an uncertain future for the region, says Dr Saraswat.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Deepika Saraswat’s article 'Iran: Part of an ‘Axis’ or a Middle Power in (Eur)Asia' was published by NatStrat Centre for Research on Strategic and Security Issues on 01 April 2024.
During the ongoing transitional phase in international and regional politics, while Iran continues to counter US influence in West Asia, in (Eur)Asia, it is behaving like a middle power utilising multilateral diplomacy, its geographical centrality and sources of ideational power to shape not only a post-Western but also a post-hegemonic geopolitical order, says Dr Saraswat.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Deepika Saraswat’s article ‘Deciphering the shadow war between Iran, Israel’ has been published in Hindustan Times on 24 January 2024.
What is clear is that what started as a Hamas-Israel conflict three months ago has morphed into a shadow war between Israel and Iran, says Dr Saraswat.
Jaishankar’s visit is a timely reminder that India’s partnership stands on its own, and Indian interests demand more rather than less engagement with Tehran.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Deepika Saraswat’s article 'I2U2: Change and Continuity in India’s West Asia Policy' was published in the MEI-NUS Insights Series India-Middle East Relations: Opportunities and Challenges by Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore, on 19 September 2023.
India’s participation in mini-lateral frameworks together with the US and its West Asian allies has been a transformative development in its West Asia policy.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Deepika Saraswat's article 'China-brokered Iran-Saudi détente: India must be ready to deal with Beijing translating economic might into diplomatic wins' has been published in ‘The Indian Express’, on 13 March 2023.
While blaming US-led interventions for regional instability, China has supported Gulf countries in setting up multilateral dialogue platforms and taking the initiative in regional issues, says Dr Saraswat.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Dr Deepika Saraswat’s article ‘Turkey’s ‘New Geopolitics’ appeared in Baltic Rim Economies 1/2023 Special issue on geopolitics, published by Centrum Balticum Foundation.
Going forward Turkey, as an autonomous strategic actor, will continue to play a complex game of cooperation and competition in various sub-regions including Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, Central Asia-Caucasus and the Middle East, says Dr Saraswat.