Dr. Daniel Markey is a senior advisor on South Asia at the United States Institute of Peace. He is also a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Foreign Policy Institute. 

From 2015-2021, Dr. Markey was a senior research professor in international relations at SAIS, where he launched and led the Master of Arts in Global Policy degree program and taught courses in international politics and policy. From 2007-2015, Dr. Markey was a senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2003 to 2007, Dr. Markey was a member of the U.S. State Department’s Policy Planning Staff. His work focused on U.S. strategy in South Asia, especially Pakistan and India. Prior to government service, he taught in the Department of Politics at Princeton University and served as executive director of Princeton’s Research Program in International Security. Earlier, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard’s Olin Institute for Strategic Studies.

Dr. Markey has two decades of academic, think tank, and government experience focused on international relations and U.S. policy in Asia, with a particular focus on South Asia and China’s evolving role in the region. Dr. Markey earned his bachelor’s in international relations from Johns Hopkins and his doctorate in politics from Princeton.

Dr. Markey is the author of China’s Western Horizon: Beijing and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia (Oxford University Press, 2020). The book assesses the evolving political, economic, and security links between China and its western neighbors, including Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. He is also the author of No Exit from Pakistan: America’s Tortured Relationship with Islamabad (Cambridge University Press, 2013) as well as numerous reports, articles, book chapters, and opinion pieces. His commentary has been featured widely in U.S. and international media.

Publications By Daniel

Modi Walks a Diplomatic Tightrope in Ukraine

Modi Walks a Diplomatic Tightrope in Ukraine

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv on Friday, marking the first time an Indian leader has gone to Ukraine since its 1991 independence. Ukrainian officials said the visit demonstrated diplomatic backing for the war-torn nation, as it looks to build support among non-Western nations ahead of any potential negotiations on a settlement to the conflict. Although India has long-standing close ties with Russia, it has sought to portray a neutral stance on the conflict. As part of Modi’s bid to boost India’s international clout, he wants to demonstrate that Delhi can play a constructive, “friendly” role in resolving the war.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

China, Russia See SCO at Counterweight to NATO but India Is Ambivalent

China, Russia See SCO at Counterweight to NATO but India Is Ambivalent

Thursday, July 11, 2024

A week ahead of the NATO summit in Washington, leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) gathered in Astana, Kazakhstan for the group’s annual meeting. Already one of the world’s largest regional organizations, the SCO added Belarus to the bloc at this year’s summit. Established by China and Russia in 2001, the SCO was originally focused on security and economic issues in Central Asia. But amid growing division and competition with the West, Beijing and Moscow increasingly position the growing bloc as a platform to promote an alternative to the U.S.-led order. Still, the organization’s expansion has been met with friction by some members.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

After India’s Surprising Elections, What’s Next for Modi’s Foreign Policy?

After India’s Surprising Elections, What’s Next for Modi’s Foreign Policy?

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Widely expected to cruise to a third-straight majority in India’s parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) instead lost ground and must now rely on its National Democratic Alliance partners, especially the Janata Dal (United) party and the Telugu Desam Party, to form a coalition government. While the stunning results will have immediate consequences for Modi’s domestic agenda, foreign and national security policies are not top priorities for India’s new parliament. Still, the political changes associated with coalition rule and the BJP’s unanticipated electoral setback could affect India’s international relationships in important ways.

Type: Analysis

Global Elections & ConflictGlobal Policy

India Elections: Foreign Policy Rhetoric Mixes Bluster and Real Differences

India Elections: Foreign Policy Rhetoric Mixes Bluster and Real Differences

Monday, May 20, 2024

Historically, foreign policy has rarely been a core area for political debate in India’s national elections. This year, the BJP is again widely anticipated to win a parliamentary majority, however, as hundreds of millions of Indian voters head to the polls, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition INDIA alliance, headed by the Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi, have made a point to highlight their differences on several high-profile national security issues.

Type: Analysis

Global Elections & Conflict

What’s Driving India-China Tensions?

What’s Driving India-China Tensions?

Monday, March 25, 2024

Since deadly clashes between India and China on their 2,100-mile disputed border — known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — nearly four years ago, the two countries have remained in a standoff and amassed an increasing number of troops on either side of the LAC. While India and China have held regular exchanges at the corps commander level since 2020, each side has also continued to militarize and invest in infrastructure in the high-altitude border regions, which may exacerbate risks of clashes or escalation. India-China competition has also deepened beyond the land border, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

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