Paul Kapur Sworn In: Top South Asia Expert Takes Key US Diplomatic Role

In a post on X, the State SCA said, "Welcome to State SCA, Assistant Secretary Paul Kapur! This morning Dr. Kapur was officially sworn in as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs."

https://x.com/State_SCA/status/1981076186991067372

The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs oversees US foreign policy and US relations with the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Kapur was a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the US Naval Postgraduate School and a visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. From 2020-2021, Kapur served on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, working on issues related to South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific strategy, and US-India relations. Previously, he taught at Claremont McKenna College, and was a visiting professor at Stanford University, as per Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

His research and teaching interests include the international security environment in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, nuclear weapons proliferation, deterrence, and Islamist militancy, as per ORF.

Kapur is author of Jihad as Grand Strategy: Islamist Militancy, National Security, and the Pakistani State (Oxford University Press, 2016); Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Conflict in South Asia (Stanford University Press, 2007); and co-author of India, Pakistan and the Bomb: Debating Nuclear Stability in South Asia (Columbia University Press, 2010).

His articles have appeared in leading journals such as International Security, Security Studies, Asian Survey, Washington Quarterly, and in a variety of edited volumes. Kapur also manages consultancy and engagement projects for the US Department of Defense. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago and his BA degree from Amherst College, ORF stated.

- ANI