Scholars from King’s College deliver a public lecture on Afghanistan
“Withdrawal and its implications: The future of Afghanistan” was held in Kolkata on 7 May.
Prof. Anatol Lieven and Dr. Rudra Chaudhuri from the War Studies Department, King’s College London delivered a public lecture on “Withdrawal and its implications: The future of Afghanistan” in Kolkata. British Deputy High Commissioner for Eastern India, Scott Furssedonn-Wood, moderated the lecture and discussion.
Prof. Lieven and Dr. Chaudhuri discussed the uncertainties that permeate the security, political and economic transitions in Afghanistan as the withdrawal of American and International Security Assistance Forces (SAF) approaches in 2014. The lecture focused on the current situation in Afghanistan and the potential impact of withdrawal on regional and global security.
The programme was hosted by the British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata and the Ananta Aspen Centre. It was followed by a reception for Chevening alumni in Kolkata. Photos.
Further information
- About Professor Anatol Lieven - International Relations Chair at the War Studies Department, King’s College London
Prof Lieven is the Chair of International Relations in the War Studies Department of King’s College London, and a senior fellow of the New America Foundation in Washington DC. His recent book, Pakistan: A Hard Country, was published in April 2011 by Penguin and was selected by the Daily Telegraph as one of the ‘2011 Books of Year’. A new edition of America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism, was published in 2012.
He spent most of his career as a British journalist in South Asia and the former Soviet Union, and is the author of several books on the latter region, including Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power? (Yale University Press 1998) and Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry (USIP, 1999); and The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence (Yale University Press 1993). He has a BA in history and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. From 2000-2005 he was a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC. In 2005 he became a senior research fellow of the New America Foundation, a position he continues to hold. He writes a monthly column for the Financial Times, and is published frequently in other newspapers and journals.
- About Dr Rudra Chaudhuri- Senior Lecturer at the War Studies Department and the India Institute, King’s College London
Dr Chaudhuri joined the department in September 2009 having previously taught at the UK Joint Services and Command and Staff College. In September 2012, his position as a Lecturer was divided between War Studies and the India Institute at King’s. Currently, he is the Program Director for the MA South Asia and Global Security course. He completed his BA at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, MA at Exeter and PhD in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London.
Together with colleagues in the department, he has served as a consultant to British Commanders in Afghanistan. He has also worked closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a Program Director for confidential stakeholder conferences and workshops focussing on the economic and political future of Afghanistan, India-Pakistan relations, and the thorny issue of reconciliation with the Taliban.
- About Scott Furssedonn-Wood, British Deputy High Commissioner for Eastern India
Follow UK in India on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, Storify, Eventbrite, Blogs, Foursqare