Events Detail

As the world’s largest democracy, does India bear a special responsibility for the promotion of democracy in Asia? Currently, only 16 countries (out of 39) in the Asia-Pacific region are considered ‘free’ by Freedom House, with India being the largest. Now that India is shifting its foreign policy toward closer alliances with the U.S. and Japan, and away from its traditional Cold War alliance with Russia, will this new foreign policy influence the dynamics for democracy promotion in Asia?

Does India have a moral obligation to take a leading role in the new Asia? Can India take the leading democratic role, along with Japan, in what Japanese Prime Minister Abe, on his recent trip to Delhi, called a “broader Asia?” Can the Asian “Arc of Freedom and Prosperity” become a lasting force in the region? What influence might the Indo-Japanese initiative have on Chinese and Russian foreign and domestic policy?

The Pew Briefing Series is fortunate to invite you to attend a discussion with the highly distinguished Ambassador Aftab Seth, former Indian Ambassador to Japan, Vietnam and Greece. Ambassador Seth, currently director of Keio University’s Global Security Program in Tokyo, was a leading figure in the Indian diplomatic corps. He will draw on his vast diplomatic experience in Asia and Europe to speak about the role and responsibility of a democratic India. Ambassador Seth will be joined by Ambassador Teresita Schaffer, Director for South Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The panel will be moderated by Amy Kauffman, Director of the Hudson Pew Briefing Series.

Lunch will be served.

To RSVP (acceptances only), please email name and affiliation to Ioannis Saratsis at isaratsis@hudson.org

Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center
Hudson Institute
1015 15th St, NW
6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005