Interview with Siddharth Mohandas
Siddharth Mohandas is a Research Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government at Harvard University. His research interests include state building, military intervention, and Asian security issues. He has worked at the RAND Corporation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Prior to graduate school, he served as an associate editor of Foreign Affairs and interned as a speechwriter at the United Nations for Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He has written for various publications including Newsweek and the Christian Science Monitor. Mr. Mohandas holds an M.Phil. from Cambridge University and an A.B. summa cum laude from Harvard University. He was a speaker at the Harvard Berlin Dialogues session on May 26, 2008, "The Rise of China and India: Understanding the New ‘New World Order’."
Interview by Sabrina Dax
What is the topic of your doctoral research?
My research has to do with what is popularly known as nation building, although I think that in many ways it is a problematic term because it properly refers to the historical process of creating a unitary state and national identity. Most people, however, understand the term in the context used in the press, which refers to military interventions aimed at promoting democratic systems of government. A more accurate term would be foreign-led democratic state building.
I’m interested in looking at this phenomenon throughout the 20th century and trying to understand the variation of outcomes in different attempts at intervention. Part of what motivates my interest is my sense that this is a much broader issue than simply what’s in the newspaper today, important though that is. The United States has been engaging in similar exercises since the early part of the 20th century. And, to the extent that one believes state failure is a continuing problem in international politics, it is an issue that one can imagine having salience long into the future, even in the aftermath of the unhappy experience in Iraq.
I am looking at a variety of cases in the 20th century, including the US occupation of the Philippines, the US occupation of Japan, and the first year of the US occupation of Iraq, when Iraq was under formal US control. I am interested in exploring the tension between the processes of state building and democratization.
Could you describe your experience working as a speechwriter for former Secretary-General Kofi Annan?
It was an experience I had as an undergraduate, and it was a good one. Speechwriting is a curious exercise, insofar as one has to try to inhabit the voice and even the mind of someone else. We all studied a body of speeches in the Secretary General’s office in order to understand his policy positions, but also to examine his way of speaking. I worked on a book chapter on the United Nations and a couple of speeches. One speech was on policy regarding outer space – not something I had strong views on! – and the other was on supporting NGO efforts in fighting drugs.
Senator Barack Obama will be in Berlin this week. What has been your experience working for Senator Obama?
I help out as a volunteer with Senator Obama’s South Asia foreign policy advisory team. It has been a great experience in many ways, especially since South Asia is a key part of Senator Obama’s foreign policy. It has been interesting getting a glimpse into how political campaigns operate. But more than that it’s been gratifying working for a candidate I believe in and with colleagues I really respect and admire.
Your trip to Berlin for your participation in the Berlin Dialogues was your first visit to Berlin. What were your impressions of the city? What was the significance of discussing the rise of China and India in Berlin?
I absolutely loved Berlin. It is a beautiful, leafy green city, filled with historical sites, but also a very dynamic, cosmopolitan place. I really enjoyed my time there – I now understand why it’s Europe’s “capital of cool.” Berlin was also the ideal place to be talking about the rise of China and India for two reasons. One is that the rise of a new power has traditionally been viewed as a dangerous and destabilizing phenomenon, which the initial unification of Germany bears out. In addition, the concept of a “New World Order,” which the title of the session referenced, came into common parlance after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Twenty years later, we are still trying to understand the contours of what a post-Cold War world looks like.
What did your work involve at the RAND Corporation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies?
At the RAND Corporation, I did research on Iraq and co-authored a history of the Coalition Provisional Authority. At the Center for Strategic and International Studies, I worked a few years ago for Richard Danzig, a former Secretary of the Navy. I helped him with his research on bio-terrorism preparedness in the United States.
You have worked both outside and within academia. What do you hope to do in the future?
I would like to pursue a career that allows me to continue research and writing, while working on policy issues as well.