International Webinar on “Great Power Interactions in the Indo-Pacific” at KIIT Law School
The Department of Social Science and Humanities, KIIT Law School (KLS) in collaboration with Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies (KIIPS) organized an International Webinar on “Great Power Interactions in the Indo-Pacific” on 23rd April 2022.
The webinar was chaired by Prof. Chintamani Mohapatra, Professor, Centre for Canadian, US & Latin American Studies, SIS and Former Pro-VC, JNU, while four eminent speakers – Prof. Stephen Robert Nagy, Senior Associate Professor, International Christian University, Tokyo; Prof. Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director, Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement; Prof. Amit Gupta, Associate Professor, USAF Air War College, Alabama, USA; and Prof. Jakub Zajączkowski, Professor, Institute of International Relations, University of Warsaw, Poland – delivered lectures.
The Indo-Pacific is slowly being transformed into a seat of greater competition and conflict, Prof. (Dr.) Bhavani Prasad Panda, Director, KLS said in his introductory remarks. In his keynote address, Prof. Mohapatra explained the contemporary global situation, where the world is still facing the effects of COVID-19 pandemic as well as witnessing the Russian-Ukraine war. He analyzed the U.S. approach in the present situation with the latent containment of China; and also deliberated on the position of Japan and Germany.
Explaining the stance of India in the region, Prof. Nagy highlighted the relationship between China and Japan and the latter’s inclusive and exclusive approach towards attaining superiority in the Indo-Pacific region. Prof. Gupta critically examined Australia’s position in AUKUS for nuclear submarines, which is not the same as India.
Prof. Jaiswal analyzed the relationship between Nepal and China in terms of political interest of Nepal. The Indo-Pacific is a political concept in the context of China rather than a geographical concept, opined Prof. Jakub Zajączkowski. Since the war in Ukraine, the US has started to analyze the context of democratic values and global routes, he stated, adding that great power interactions are complex global phenomena in the current international scenario. The lectures were followed by a Q&A session.
Dr. Sanghamitra Patnaik, HOD & Associate Professor –II was Convenor of the webinar, which was attended by about 70 participants. A vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. Ramesh Chandra Sethi, Assistant Professor, KIIT Law School. The event was coordinated by Piyush Kranti, Srejeta Datta, Smruti Sagarika Das, Khusi and Bibaswan Moharna, 4th semester students of B.A.LL.B.