Sinderpal Singh is a Senior Fellow with the South Asia Programme and Assistant Director, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies. He is concurrently Coordinator of the Regional Security Architecture Programme and the South Asia Programme, IDSS, at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research interests include the international relations of South Asia with a special focus on Indian foreign policy, the geo-politics of the Indian Ocean Region and India-Southeast Asia relations. Before joining RSIS, Sinderpal was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, and a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. He has published articles in Asia Policy, Asian Security, Pacific Affairs, India Review, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies and Contemporary Southeast Asia; his single-authored book is entitled India in South Asia: Domestic Identity Politics and Foreign Policy from Nehru to the BJP (Routledge 2013; paperback version, 2015). He has also contributed various book chapters on aspects of India’s Northeast, specifically in relation to India-ASEAN land connectivity. He is also editor of Modi and the World: (Re) Constructing Indian Foreign Policy (World Scientific: 2017).

He was selected as the inaugural McCain-Fulbright Scholar in Residence and spent a a semester at the United States Naval Academy as part of this prestigious fellowship. He serves on the editorial board of the Review of International Studies (RIS), a journal of the British International Studies Association (BISA) and is an Associate Editor of the journal South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, published by the South Asian Studies Association of Australia.

He received his PhD from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, his MA from the Australian National University and his BA from the National University of Singapore.

• Indian Foreign Policy
• IR Theory
• Asia’s International Politics
• Regionalism in International Politics
• Indian Ocean Security

• Associate Editor, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies (http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/csas20)
• Member, South Asian Studies Association of Australia
• Member, British Association of South Asian Studies

Commentaries

• India, Russia, and the Northern Sea Route: Navigating a Shifting Strategic Environment

  05 September, 2023

• India and Southeast Asia: Adrift in the Stormy Seas?

  25 February, 2021

• CO18057 | South Asia and the Maritime Silk Road: Far From Plain-sailing

  28 March, 2018

• CO17044 | The Modi ‘Wave’: Implications of Uttar Pradesh State Elections

  15 March, 2017

IDSS Paper

• IP24040 | “Good Fences Make Good Neighbours”?: India’s Approach to the India-Myanmar Border

  28 March, 2024

• IP24031 | India’s Strategic Choices: Russia, the United States and Europe

  22 March, 2024

• IP23025 | Strategies for an Uncertain World: Indian Perceptions and Responses

  17 March, 2023

• IP22086 | India-China Border Clashes: Understanding Indian Perceptions of China

  30 December, 2022

• IP22068 | India’s Relationship with Bangladesh: A Template for a “New” Regionalism

  15 November, 2022

• IP22022 | India and France: A Growing Convergence of Interests

  31 March, 2022

• IP22017 | India’s Myanmar Dilemma: Policy Challenges and Choices

  22 March, 2022

• IP21018 | India and Afghanistan: Constructing Strategic Options

  24 November, 2021

Authored Books

• India in South Asia: Domestic Identity Politics and Foreign Policy from Nehru to the BJP. New York & Abingdon: Routledge, 2014

Journal Articles

• “The Indo-Pacific and India-U.S. Strategic Convergence: An Assessment” in Asia Policy, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2019, pp. 77-94
• “The Dilemmas of Regional States: How Southeast Asian States View and Respond to India–China Maritime Competition” in Asian Security, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2018, pp. 44-59
• John Harriss, Aseema Sinha, Andrew Wyatt and Sinderpal Singh, 'Indian Political Studies: In Search of Distinctiveness', Pacific Affairs, 88(1), 2015.
• Sinderpal Singh, 'From Delhi to Bandung: Nehru, Indian-ness and Pan-Asian-ness', South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 34(1), 2011
• Sinderpal Singh and Syeda Sana Rahman, 'Singapore-India Relations; Constructing a "New" Bilateral Relationship', Contemporary Southeast Asia, 32(1), 2010
• Sinderpal Singh, 'Border Crossings and "Islamic Terrorists": Representing Bangladesh in Indian Foreign policy during the BJP Era', India Review, 8(2), 2009

Edited Books / Special Issues

• Modi and the World: (Re) Constructing Indian Foreign Policy. : World Scientific Publishing, 2016

Chapters in Edited Books

• “Relations between India and ASEAN: The ‘ASEAN Way’ and the Indo-Pacific Way” in Tommy Koh, Hernaikh Singh and Moe Thuzar, ASEAN and India: The Way Forward. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, 2022, 73-77
• “Irrawaddy Imperatives review: A Blind Spot” in Jaideep Chanda, Irrawaddy Imperatives: Reviewing India’s Myanmar Strategy. Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Pentagon Press, 2022,
• “India-China Maritime Competition: Southeast Asia and the Dilemma of Regional States” in Rajesh Basrur, Anit Mukherjee, and TV Paul, India-China Maritime Competition: The Security Dilemma at Sea (Cass Series: Naval Policy and History). Abingdon & New York: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group), 2019, pp. 137-160
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘Debating Physical Connectivity between India and Southeast Asia: Economics vs Security’ in Namrata Goswami (ed.), India’s Approach to Asia: Strategy, Geopolitics and Responsibility (Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2016)
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘India’s LEP and India-ASEAN Connectivity: Territorial Borders and Anxiety in Indian Foreign Policy’ in S. Narayan and Laldinkima Sailo (eds), Connecting India to ASEAN (Delhi: Manohar Publishers, 2015)
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘India-ASEAN Connectivity: Boundary or Gateway?’, in Prabir De (ed.), Dynamics of India-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, (Delhi: RIS, 2014).

Op-Eds

• “India, Russia and the Northern Sea Route: Navigating a shifting strategic environment”, ThinkChina, 21 August 2023
• Sinderpal Singh, 'India-Pakistan Relations Remain in Limbo', TODAY (Singapore), 28th January 2016
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘Abe’s Visit to India: The Strategic Implications’, ISAS Brief, 2014
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘Something of a Home Coming: Aung Sang Suu Kyi’s Visit to India’, ISAS Brief, 2012
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘India Walks the Tightrope in East Asia’, TODAY (Singapore), 13th November 2010
• Sinderpal Singh, 'H1B Visa Fee Hike: Will India-US Ties Be Affected?', ISAS Brief, 2010
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘United States-India Strategic Dialogue: Still Waiting for Obama, ISAS Brief, 2010
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘A New Japan and Possible Implications for Japan-India Relations, ISAS Brief, 2009
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘A Tale of Two Visits: The India-China-US Relationship’, ISAS Brief, 2009
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘Time for a Singapore Lobby in Delhi’, Business Times (Singapore), 7th October 2009
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘Silence is Golden: India Current Position on Myanmar’, ISAS Brief, 2009
• Sinderpal Singh, ‘Hillary Clinton’s Visit to India: Differences Remain despite Positive Outcomes’, ISAS Brief, 2009

• S6023 Indian Ocean Security