Description
Rising tensions between India and Pakistan are once again drawing global attention – but they’re also part of a much bigger story. As China and the West compete for influence through military technology, strategic alliances, and shifting defence deals, regional conflicts like the one over Kashmir are becoming flashpoints in a wider struggle for global power.
We explore the roles China and the West are playing behind the scenes. Our experts discuss how their rivalry is reshaping not just diplomacy and security, but the military and economic order itself. This timely event explores how today’s conflicts are part of a deeper contest to define the world’s next chapter.
About the Speakers
Professor Paul Rogers
Paul Rogers is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, and an Honorary Fellow of the UK Defence Academy. He is a biologist by original training, lecturing at Imperial College and also working in tropical crop research in East Africa. From later lecturing in environmental science, he moved to Bradford in 1979 and has worked primarily on the changing causes of international conflict, especially in relation to political violence. A fourth edition of his book, Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century, was published by Pluto Press last July.
Salman Shaikh
Salman Shaikh is the Founder and CEO of The Shaikh Group (TSG), a specialised peace-building organisation dedicated to mitigating and resolving violent conflict, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Shaikh has extensive experience leading mediation and Track II diplomacy initiatives with local actors, governments, and key international actors – with a focus on Syria, the broader Levant, the Gulf region and Iran. Before establishing TSG, Shaikh was the director of the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center, where his research focused on conflict resolution, domestic policy, and geopolitics of the Middle East. Shaikh previously worked the United Nations in a number of offices. Shaikh also served as director for policy and research in the private office of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bin Nasser al-Missned, the Consort of the former Emir of the State of Qatar.
About the Chair
Saeed Khan
Saeed Khan is a cultural historian and commentator based at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he teaches in the departments of History and Global Studies. His academic expertise includes Islamic and Middle Eastern history, Islamic political thought, and transnational identities. Alongside his academic work, he is a frequent analyst for international media outlets. Saeed is the founder of the Center for the Study of Trans-Atlantic Diasporas, a policy institute focused on ethnic and immigrant communities in North America and Europe.
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