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The South Asia Program: Harnessing the Internationalization of Sciences Po

Launched this year, the South Asia Program aims at fostering area studies research and teaching at Sciences Po. Established in 1952, the CERI has a longstanding commitment to regional studies, a focus that is also prominent in other centers at Sciences Po. Comparative politics is steadfastly supported by the International Affairs Department (DAI), which continues to increase the number of student exchanges and academic partnerships with universities around the world.

The 'Regional Areas Programs' – whether they engage with Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, or South Asia – are thus the crucibles of new collaborations between scholars from the five disciplines of Sciences Po. They also strive to bring together researchers, the DAI and the “Ecoles” of the university where specialized courses are being created. This new curriculum will allow students to demonstrate regional expertise and earn a minor in an area-specific field.

In this context, the South Asia Program’s mandate is threefold. First, it stewards the formation of a regional specialization within the Paris School of International Affairs and the School of Urban Studies. As part of this, students are invited to choose a number of area-specific courses, learn a language, conduct fieldwork, and write a thesis. Second, it contributes to the development of partnerships with universities in South Asia. Along with these already established academic ties, the South Asia program will facilitate the establishment of new partnerships secured by the DAI. Third, it organizes public events, research seminars and closed-door meetings bringing together regional experts, whether academics or practitioners.

The recently concluded opening conference of the South Asia Program unpacked  the environmental challenges that the region faces, including water stress, air pollution, or deforestation. Inhabited by more than 2 billion people – one quarter of humanity – South Asia is an epicenter of climate change. It is necessary to analyze the responses that ‌countries in the area are implementing, both through their participation in successive COPs and via public policies and social innovations. These topics were carefully disaggregated to account for the different tools  for mitigation and adaptation to climate change in both urban and rural areas. These two days of academic exchange featured experts form a wide breadth of disciplines and institutions – including from South Asia. The event was concluded with a keynote address delivered by Esther Duflo, Nobel Prize winner in economics.