Democracy Dialogues Series 44

Organised by New Socialist Initiative

Theme : Lessons from the Recent Conflicts in West Asia

Speaker : Talmiz Ahmad Author, Columnist, Ex Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ex – Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA)
Abstract :

 After a quick overview of the recent wars in West Asia, I will look at some “lessons” that these conflicts have for us. These will include:

* the enduring importance of the Palestinian issue as a vestige of the age of imperialism
* Has the holocaust given Israel impunity from  all crime?
* Nature of future conflict: precision targeting in which energy,     food and technology “corridors” will be the principal battlegrounds
* Armed confrontations between the colonial and colonised states: lessons from asymmetric conflict
* The reality and limitations of US power
* The outlook for “World Order”
* Are we looking at an emerging “clash of civilisations”?
* Recurring patterns in West Asian history
* In this global turbulence, where does India fit in?

About the Speaker :

Talmiz Ahmad joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1974. Early in his career, he was posted in a number of West Asian countries such as Kuwait, Iraq and Yemen and later, between 1987-90, he was Consul General in Jeddah. He also held positions in the Indian missions in New York, London and Pretoria. He was the head of the Gulf and Hajj Division in the Ministry of External Affairs in 1998-2000.

He served as Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia twice (2000-03; 2010-11); Oman (2003-04), and the UAE (2007-10). He was also Additional Secretary for International Cooperation in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2004-06, and Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi, in 2006-07. In July 2011, the Saudi Government conferred on him the King Abdul Aziz Medal First Class for his contribution to the promotion of Indo – Saudi relations.

After retirement from foreign service in 2011, he worked in the corporate sector in Dubai for four years. He is now a full-time academic and holds the Ram Sathe Chair in International Studies, Symbiosis International University, Pune.

He has published four books: 

Reform in the Arab World: External Influences and Regional Debates (2005); 

Children of Abraham at War: The Clash of Messianic Militarisms (2010), 

The Islamist Challenge in West Asia: Doctrinal and Political Competitions after the Arab Spring (2013). 

West Asia at War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games, ( April 2022, Harper Collins )

He writes regularly in the Indian and West Asian media and lectures on the politics and economics of West Asia, Eurasia and the Indian Ocean, political Islam and energy security.