Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Sonika Gupta

Associate Professor

  • Ph.D.,Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi in Global Politics & Chinese Studies.
  • M.Phil.,Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi in Global Politics & Chinese Studies.
  • M.A.,Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi in Global Politics & Chinese Studies.
  • +91 (44) 2257 4523
  • sonika[at]iitm[.]ac[.]in
  Research Areas and Focus
    • Tibetan Exile Community in India
    • State-making in the India’s Himalayan borderlands
    • Chinese foreign policy
    • International Relations Theory

Doctoral Candidates are encouraged to apply in areas of research exploring the Tibetan Community in India, Himalayan borderlands with reference to state-making, geo-politics, identity and related concerns, Chinese foreign policy and International Relations theory.

  Office Location
  • Room no – HSB 331B
  • E-mail : sonika[at]iitm[.]ac[.]in
  • Phone :+91 (44) 2257 4523
  • SONIKA GUPTA has an M.A, M.Phil, and Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi in Global Politics & Chinese Studies.
  • She is currently an Associate Professor in Chinese Studies and Global Politics at Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai.
  • In 2011, she founded IITM China Studies Centre as its Co-ordinator from April 2011-July 2015.
  • Visiting Faculty:Since 2017 she has taught seminar courses as visiting faculty at the Bremen Hoschshule, City University of Applied Sciences, Germany in their International Degree Programmes in Political Management and East Asian Studies.
  • Project: Evolving A Himalayan Policy for India: Infrastructure, States, Communities, and Ecologies in the Eastern Himalayas. Duration: July 2023-July 2025 Funding Agency: SPARC, India Value: Rs. 44,80,170 Collaborators: La Trobe University: Dr.Ruth Gamble,  Prof.James Leibold: LaTrobe University University of Western Australia:  Dr. Alex Davis Sikkim University:  Dr. Uttam Lal​
  • Protracted Conflict & Borderland Communities in Taiwan and India: Case Studies of West Kameng (India) & Kinmen (Taiwan) Duration: 2023-2025 Funding agency: Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation, Taiwan. Co-Principal Investigator: Hsiu-hua Shen, Associate Professor, NTHU, Taiwan
  • Tibetan Rehabilitation in Indian Himalayas.
  • Democratization of Tibetan exile politics.

Books

  • Sonika Gupta & P. Sudarsan (eds) (2015) Politics and Cosmopolitanism in the Global Age, Routledge, New Delhi.
  • PR Chari, Sonika Gupta and Arpit Rajain, (eds.) (2003) Nuclear Stability in Southern Asia, Manohar Publisher. Delhi.
  • P R Chari and Sonika Gupta (eds.) (2002) Human Security in South Asia. (2002) New Delhi: Social Science Press
  • Sonika Gupta and Mugur Zlotea, (2018)  Online Perceptions of Chinese Foreign Policy: A Study of China’s Territorial Disputes,  in Ranganathan  and Sanjeev Kumar (eds) China and The Eurasian Region: Geographic and Geopolitical Influences,  Pentagon Press & ICWA, New Delhi.
  •  Sonika Gupta (2015)Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism: A Reexamination in Politics in the Global Age:  in Gupta and Padmanabhan (eds) Politics and Cosmopolitanism in a Global Age, Routledge, New Delhi.
  • Mugur Zlotea and Sonika Gupta,(2013) The Internet in China: A Study of Micro-Blogging in China leading up the 18th Party Congress in The Eighteenth Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Rangnathan and Kumar (eds) Pentagon Press & ICWA, New Delhi. pp. 192-220 ISBN. 9788182747241
  • Sonika Gupta,  (2007) “Role of Political Culture in Sino-Pak Cooperation” Swaran Singh (ed) China-Pakistan Strategic Cooperation: Indian Perspectives Centre De Sciences Humaines & Manohar Publishers. 2007. Pp. 119-136. ISBN. 9788173047619
  • S.Chandrasekhar, Sonika Gupta and Arvind Kumar, (2007) “An Assessment of China’s Ballistic and Cruise Missile Programmes” in pp 330-336. Satish Kumar (ed) Indian National Security Review, Knowledge World, New Delhi. ISBN. 9788187966739
  • S Chandrasekhar, Arvind Kumar and Sonika Gupta, (2007) “An Update on Pakistan’s Ballistic Missile Programme” Satish Kumar (ed) Indian National Security Review 2007, New Delhi, Knowledge World, pp 384-411. ISBN. 9788187966739
  • Sonika Gupta, (2002) “Human Security, Economic Development and Gender” (eds.) pp. 52-68. Chari and Gupta (eds) Human Security in South Asia. New Delhi: Social Science Press 2002 ISBN. 9788187358091
  • Impact of Information Technology on Organised Protest in China- Case Study of Falun Gong Movement Information Technology and International Cooperation Summer Collegium Institute of International Studies, University of California at Berkeley. (UCB) June-August 2001
  • Use of Force in Chinese Foreign Policy: A case study of the South China Sea disputes” Asia Pacific International Studies Association Congress National University of Singapore (NUS) 29th Nov-2nd Dec 2003
  • “Changing Contours of Indo-US Relations. (Conference Proceedings) K.P.Vijayalakshmi, Arvind Kumar, Sonika Gupta, S. Chandrashekar (ed) National Workshop Report National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore (NIAS) 2006, ISBN. 81-87993-60-X
  • Examining the South China Sea Conflict in Context of Recent Developments International conference on Asia-Pacific 2013: Looking Beyond South East Asia. Organised by Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, SAEA, Singapore and Stella Maris College, Chennai 4 March 2013
  • India-China Relations: Stanley Wolpert (ed.) Encyclopedia of India, Charles Scribners and Sons, New York, 2005 (4963 words)
  • Co-authored “An Assessment of China’s Ballistic and Cruise Missile Programmes: Technology, Organisation and Strategy” NIAS Report 2007 Published by National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
  • Co-authored “Managing Risks and Opportunities: Assessing the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal” NIAS Report, February 2006. Published by National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
  • Co-authored “Forging A New Partnership: Assessing the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal” NIAS Report, September 2006. Published by National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
  • “China-EU and the Arms Embargo” ORF Issue Brief No. 1, March 2004 Published by Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
  • “The 16th Party Congress in China”, IPCS Issue Brief No 3. November 2002 Published by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi.
  • “Growing Tensions in the South China Sea” IPCS Issue Brief No. 213, May 2013. Published by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi.
  • Centre for Comparative EU Studies, Co-coordinator, Year: 2009-2011 European Union Setting up of Centre for Comparative EU Studies at HSS, Developing new research & teaching area in International Relations and Globalisation at HSS. Funded by the European Commission
  • Participation, Contestation and Legitimation in Chinese Politics, Principal Investigator, year 2012-2013.International collaboration with scholars from Universities of Peking, Oxford, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Singapore, Delhi and National Taiwan University to evolve a framework for examining Legitimacy and Participation in Chinese Politics. Funded by Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation, Taiwan
  • Liminal Space of Citizenship: Study of Tibetan Refugees in India funded by Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation Research Grant 2017-2020.
  • HS5940 International Relations: Theory and Practice (Introduced and taught) 3 credits. (M.A. Core)
  • HS3420 China in Contemporary Global Politics (Introduced and taught) 3 Credits (Elective)
  • HS 7005: State, Politics and Foreign Policy in China (Introduced and Taught) 4 credits (Ph.D. Core)
  • HS3120 Globalization and Change (Introduced and Taught) 4 credits (M.A. Core)
  • HS5080 Human Rights and Justice (Introduced &Taught) 4 credits  (M.A. Core)
  • HS 2160 Constitution of India: Text and Practice (Taught) 4 credits (  M.A. Core)
  • GIAN Course: China Wired: Politics of New Media in China. Co-taught with Dr. James Leibold, LaTrobe, Melbourne, Australia. 6-10 Feb 2017
  • FOUNDER, IIT Madras China Study Centrewww.csc.iitm.ac.in
  • In April 2011, IITM China Studies Centre was set up for academic research and policy analysis on Chinese politics, society, economy and foreign policy.
  • The Centre is funded by IITM with a mandate to seek project funding from outside the Institute.
  • As Coordinator I was responsible for:
    • Identifying and developing research areas
    • Fashioning and coordinating research projects
    • Fundraising
      • Collaboration with national and international bodies and academic institutes Under this CSC has signed an MOU with NTHU, Taiwan to establish a Taiwan Education Program at CSC in September 2013. This MoU strengthens the Centre’s research activities by introduction of additional course in Chinese language and on Chinese Society and Culture.
    • General administration of the Centre.
    • Co-cordinator, Center For Comparative European Union Studies, Department of HSS.
    • Along with the other two colleagues from Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, I set up the Centre for Comparative European Union Studies as part of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. The CCEUS was funded by a grant from the EU.
    • The value of the grant was Rs. 1.36 crores.
    • The twin research foci of the Centre are Globalization and International Relations and Democracy and Development.
    • As co-coordinator, I was responsible
      • for drafting the proposal and for all academic activities for 2011
      • Organizing and conducting an international workshop in June 2011
      • Organizing and conducting an international seminar in Dec 2011.
      • Both these events were focused on themes of Politics in the Global Age.
Sl. No. Name of Employer/Status of Institute/University   Post held/ Designation Period of Employment From        To Nature of duties
1. National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore Post-Doctoral Fellow June 2005-June 2007 Research Project on Chinese Foreign Policy with specific focus on Chinese missile programme
2. Observer Research Foundation, Asia –Pacific Program, New Delhi Research Fellow January 2005-January 2005 Research Project on Chinese foreign policy with special focus on China’s Western Development Strategy
3. Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi Assistant Director June 2003-December 2004 Research on Chinese Foreign Policy
4. Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi Research Officer Research on Chinese Foreign Policy
  • Awarded the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) New York, summer fellowship for 2001 to attend the collegium at University of California at Berkeley in Summer 2001 (Research Topic: Impact of Information Technology on Organised Protest in China; A Case Study of the Falun Gong Movement in China.) June 2001 – August 2001
  • Awarded the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS, Colombo) fellowship to attend a Research Workshop on Defence Technology and Co-operative Security in South Asia in Kathmandu from 10-21st of September 2000.
  • Awarded the Chinese Government Scholarship in 1998 for research and language study in China. August 1998-July 1999
  • Awarded the University Grants Commission’s Junior Research Fellowship (1995- 2001) and qualified for Lectureship in December 1994.

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Room No.: HSB 333
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
PIN Code: 600036

Tel-Phone::+91 44 2257 4500
Email: hsoffice[at]iitm[.]ac[.]in

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