Darshana M. Baruah

Darshana M. Baruah is a fellow with the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she directs the Indian Ocean Initiative, and a nonresident scholar at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Tokyo. Her primary research focuses on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and the role of islands in shaping great power competition. Her work examines the impact of maritime security in foreign policy engagements, India’s naval strategy, maritime partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, and island agencies in shaping excellent power competition. Her work also examines the strategic implications of China’s infrastructure and connectivity projects as well as trilateral partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Baruah has spent time in think tanks in Delhi, Tokyo, Canberra, and Sydney before moving to Washington D.C. working on issues of maritime security, the Indian Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific.