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Sundeep Waslekar

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Sundeep Waslekar
Waslekar at the Horasis Global China Business Meeting 2009
Born
Mumbai, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materOxford University
Known forPeace and conflict studies, Global Future, Water Diplomacy
Scientific career
FieldsGovernance, Peace and conflict studies
InstitutionsStrategic Foresight Group, Centre for Policy Research, International IDEA

Sundeep Waslekar is an Indian author and the president of Strategic Foresight Group.[1] Waslekar has worked on policy concepts related to peace processes, and his works have been discussed by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom,[2] the Indian Parliament,[citation needed] and at forums of the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council.[3] Waslekar is a signatory to the Normandy Manifesto for World Peace, along with Jody Williams, Mohamed El Baradei, Leymah Gbowee, Denis Mukwege, and philosopher Anthony Grayling.[4]

Education

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Waslekar was born in Mumbai, India, and raised in Dombivli, a suburb of Mumbai. He obtained a Master of Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai. After graduation, he published an article on reforming the global financial system in Financial Express. He was also invited to present his views at an international seminar on North-South Dialogue hosted by Liberal International. He later studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at St. John's College, Oxford University.[citation needed]

In December 2011, he was conferred the D. Litt. (Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa) by Symbiosis International University.[citation needed]

In 2014, he was elected Senior Research Fellow of the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflicts at Harris Manchester College of Oxford.[citation needed]

Peace processes

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In the 1980s, Waslekar contributed essays and features to newspapers such as the Ottawa Citizen, San Jose Mercury News, Hamilton Spectator, and Toledo Blade. When the United Nations declared 1985 the International Year of Peace, he led an Eight-Nation Peace Mission from Rome to Ottawa. He later joined the Centre for Policy Research to work on economic collaboration as a means of conflict resolution in South Asia. In 1991, he founded the International Centre for Peace Initiatives, an institution in South Asia focused on conflict resolution, which assisted with diplomatic efforts between India and Pakistan.

Following the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the War on Terror, he facilitated dialogues between Western and Islamic leaders in collaboration with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament[5] and the League of Arab States. In 2009, he launched dialogue processes aimed at using water to promote collaboration between countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

In the early 2000s, Waslekar and Ilmas Futehally led the Strategic Foresight Group to prepare cost-of-conflict models for India–Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East.[6] In 2015, he created the Water Cooperation Quotient to quantify the quality of cooperation within transboundary river basins worldwide. In 2017, a revised version of the Water Cooperation Quotient was introduced, encompassing all 286 shared river basins worldwide. According to the Strategic Foresight Group, it has political support from the InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government.

Waslekar initiated the Blue Peace framework, which focuses on using water as a tool for peace. This initiative, developed at the Strategic Foresight Group, contributed to the first-ever United Nations Security Council session on water, peace, and security (UNSC 7818[7]). The Water Cooperation Quotient measures the quality of cooperation in transboundary water basins and, according to the Strategic Foresight Group, demonstrates that active water cooperation reduces the risk of conflict. The Blue Peace initiative, particularly applied in the Middle East, aims to transform water from a potential source of crisis into a catalyst for cooperation and stability.

Governance

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During the period from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the end of the First Gulf War in 1991, he sought perspectives from 40 world leaders across all continents to contribute to a blueprint for the architecture of global governance in the post–Cold War era.

In the second half of the 1990s, he wrote two books on India and neighbouring countries: South Asian Drama: Travails of Misgovernance and Dharma Rajya: Path-breaking Reforms for India's Governance.[8]

In 2002, he developed a categorisation of the Indian economy based on consumption patterns rather than income levels.[9]

In 2005, he was associated with the initiative of Paul Martin, then Canada's Prime Minister, to create a G-20 framework for global governance.[10]

Global Future

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In an article in India's The Economic Times in August 2007 and in the Strategic Foresight Group's report on Emerging Issues: 2011–2020, published in January 2008, Waslekar addressed the possibility of a global financial system collapse. The Emerging Issues report identifies 20 drivers of change relevant to the next decade.

In his speeches at conferences organised by the Aspen Institute in Italy and the Bertelsmann Foundation to discuss the global economic crisis in 2009, he presented ideas for a framework for an economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable future.

In 2011, he co-authored a book of essays, Big Questions of Our Time[11] with Ilmas Futehally. The book raises questions about issues humanity may face from 2010 to 2060, including topics in philosophy, politics, science, and security.

Partial bibliography

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  • The New World Order, 1991, Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd ISBN 81-220-0241-2
  • South Asian Drama: Travails of Misgovernance, 1996, Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd ISBN 81-220-0416-4
  • Dharma Rajya: Path-breaking Reforms for India's Governance, 1998, Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd ISBN 81-220-0528-4
  • The Final Settlement Strategic Foresight Group - Anticipating and Influencing Global Future: Restructuring India-Pakistan Relations, 2005, International Centre for Peace Initiatives ISBN 81-88262-06-4
  • An Inclusive World: In which the West, Islam and the Rest have a stake, 2007, Strategic Foresight Group ISBN 81-88262-09-9
  • Cost of Conflict in the Middle East SFG - Publications, co-authored with Ilmas Futehally, 2009, Strategic Foresight Group ISBN 978-81-88262-12-0
  • Eka dishecha Shodh[12] (एका दिशेचा शोध)
  • Big Questions of Our Time Strategic Foresight Group - Anticipating and Influencing Global Future co-author with Ilmas Futehally, 2011, Strategic Foresight Group ISBN 978-81-88262-16-8
  • Big Questions of Our Time: The World Speaks [1] co-author with Ilmas Futehally, 2016, Strategic Foresight Group

References

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  1. ^ "Strategic Foresight Group | LinkedIn". in.linkedin.com. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Mar 2007 (pt 0002)". publications.parliament.uk.
  3. ^ "Secretary-General, in Security Council, Stresses Promotion of Water-resource Management as Tool to Foster Cooperation, Prevent Conflict". UN Press Office. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Normandy Manifesto for World Peace | Normandy for Peace".
  5. ^ "Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, European Parliament" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Conflict has cost the Middle East $12 trillion - study". Reuters.
  7. ^ "S/PV.7818". Security Council Report. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  8. ^ Tharoor, Shashi (4 April 2006). "India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond". Arcade Publishing – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "ZESTCurrent : Message: Governments come and governments go, India mov…". archive.ph. 9 July 2012.
  10. ^ "l20.org" (PDF). www.l20.org.
  11. ^ "Strategic Foresight Group - Anticipating and Influencing Global Future" (PDF). www.strategicforesight.com.
  12. ^ Sundeep Waslekar. "Eka dishecha Shodh". Rajhans Prakashan. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
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