Shounak Set, FHEA (Fellow Higher Education Academy, UK) is a Research Fellow with the South Asia Program. Shounak was awarded his PhD in International Relations from King’s College London (KCL), as the European Commission’s Marie Curie Fellow. He also holds an Mphil in Diplomacy and Disarmament Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU, New Delhi) where he received the Junior Research Fellowship from the University Grants Commission (UGC), India. Shounak studies the interaction between technology, strategy and geopolitics, with empirical specialization on South Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
Shounak’s research expertise lies in nuclear and outer space issues from a strategic studies and foreign policy analysis perspective. His research outputs include publications in academic journals (e.g. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, China Review, RUSI Journal, Strategic Analysis), as well as thinktanks (e.g. Carnegie Endowment, Royal United Services Institution, Observer Research Foundation and GIGA). His work has received international grants, generated media engagements (e.g. BBC, DW, The Hindu Business Line) and involved regular exchanges with policymakers from UK, Europe, and India. An Aspen Rising Leader Fellow, Shounak also has a permanent research affiliation with the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research through the SYLFF Fellowship.
Prior to joining RSIS, Shounak was a Lecturer in Defence Studies with KCL and UK Defence Academy. He has taught on a range of modules on advanced strategic issues at KCL, delivered Professional Military Education at the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) and the Joint Services Command & Staff College (JSCSC, Shrivenham), and provided specialist lectures at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies). Shounak had been nominated for a King’s Education Award for teaching excellence at the Department of War Studies, KCL and has been granted the Fellowship of Higher Education Academy for pedagogical accomplishments. He has also served in leadership roles pertaining to student welfare.
