About Trivium Think Tank
Trivium Think Tank Pvt. Ltd. focuses on matters of geopolitics and foreign policy, with a specific emphasis on India’s rise and standing in international affairs. Founded in December 2016, Trivium is based in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala. Perhaps better known internationally for its idyllic backwaters and natural beauty, Kerala has also made immense contributions from a knowledge-economy front, with several eminent political thinkers and practitioners of India having coming from the state. However, in recent times, unbiased, non-partisan political discourse has been found lacking across not just Kerala, but among the larger Indian populace. As such, Trivium was constituted as an attempt to band together early-career researchers and ensure that the coming generation of potential policy and security analysts in the country had a free and open forum to turn to.
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Trivium symbolises a break from present convention in more ways than one. With political and social sciences research in India concentrated in and around New Delhi, Trivium intends to loosen the capital-centric shackles, giving voice to opinions from South India and beyond. Further, while academic research inherently has an elitist, closed-circle nature to it, Trivium aims to use the reach of modern technology to simplify social sciences research for the benefit of the society it is for.
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One of the core ethos of Trivium is to approach issues with an inter-disciplinary outlook because for practical implementation of projects, understanding all angles is a must. We focus on a wide-range of issues pertinent to the national security and foreign policy calculations of a Rising India. At the same time, we at Trivium unequivocally believe that India's continued rise depends as much (if not more) on its citizens as it does on strategic decision-making and non-partisan, long-term planning and leadership. As a result, a major part of our research focus is also on addressing the human security and developmental needs of Indian society. We strive to develop uniquely Indian solutions, from an ideational, technological, policy or legal perspective, that are designed keeping in mind the distinctive demands of Indian societal and cultural norms and sensibilities.
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The range of issues we work on include:
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India's foreign policy and strategic culture;
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The inter-relation between technology and strategic decision making;
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Emerging and established high technology sectors such as Space, Nuclear, AI, Robotics and Big Data analysis and their dual influence on national security and societal development;
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Adapting to the ongoing global environmental crisis including through adopting sustainable lifestyle practices;
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The theoretical constructs of power and influence in international politics and negotiations.
About StraTechos
StraTechos strives to explore the intersection between technology and society at the political, economic and strategic realms. In today’s world, technological advances are vital to the progress of mankind. This is true whether one views it from the prism of nation-states and their ambitions in the international stage or from the point of view of the individual whose daily activities are today inextricably linked to access to various technologies. Indeed, most technological progress has effects at both a systemic and the individual level. As such, technology is a common denominator of opportunities and risks for states, private institutions and the wider society. When a state throws resources at gaining capability in one area of technology, this gives rise to opportunities for private enterprises as well as for its citizens to gain employment and potentially reap the benefits of an improved standard of living. Conversely, when a few individuals or private firms develop a niche competence in a particular technology, their commercial ventures can both benefit their consumers as well as give room for the state to use this industrial capacity and form policies to gain influence at a global stage. Hence, a compelling need for a website which captures this dynamic interplay between technology and strategy and through it, states and the global citizenry, was felt. Carrying forward Trivium Think Tank’s motto of simplifying social sciences for society, the StraTechos website is committed to presenting these complex issues in a simple, yet coherent manner. In doing so, ST will feature articles with original, objective and unique points of view that address how technological advances have an impact on strategic decision-making and vice-versa. All attempts will be made to ensure that the content featured in StraTechos is interesting to a wide reader base. By bringing an interdisciplinary outlook to matters of strategy and politics, ST will seek to reach an audience beyond just individuals connected to the International Relations field. The ambition of the website is to contribute to informed dialogue around the intersection of technology and strategy at all levels – be it in the high halls of national security decision-making and policy think tanks, or equally so in dorm rooms and at dinner tables. The content presented in ST is designed to be relevant for the whole of society and will benefit greatly from the active interaction of authors and readers from all walks of life. To this end, ST intends to present opportunities for early-career researchers and analysts to present their perspectives and encourage them to contribute to knowledge-building.
Meet The Team
Anupama Vijayakumar
Editor-in-chief
Anupama is a Co-founder and Director of Trivium. She obtained her Ph.D. from Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), where she was a recipient of the Government of India's UGC Senior Research Fellowship. Her doctoral research focused on the interplay between technology and power in international relations, exploring whether and how technology translates to national power. Anupama is a law graduate from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and continues to hold a keen interest in matters of international law and norm building.
Vineeth Krishnan
Editor, Politics & Strategy
Vineeth is a Co-founder and Director of Trivium. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations (DGIR), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and a recipient of the Dr. T. M. A. Pai Fellowship. His doctoral thesis is on the emerging dynamics in space security, where he is analysing the prospects and challenges for cooperation among the major spacefaring nations. Vineeth is also a former sports journalist who hopes to be able to explore the nexus between sports and politics in the coming years.
Abhyuday Saraswat
Defence and Security Fellow
Abhyuday is a promising young defence analyst. He is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Defense and Strategic Studies from Bareilly College, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly and holds a B.Sc. in Military Science from the same institution. He has published a number of articles on India’s defence and security policy, and conflict analysis for publications including The Kootneeti, The Indian Defence Review, Defence and Security Alert, Global Strategic and Defense News Analysis, and Defence Research and Studies. He has previously interned at the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) and the Kootneeti.
Anurag Mishra
American Studies Fellow
Anurag is a Ph.D. Candidate at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His doctoral research focuses on non-White leadership in the Republican Party. He holds an LL.M. from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. His research interests include American politics and foreign policy, American society and culture, religion in politics, organized crime, and contemporary ethics. He has published articles and op-eds on multiculturalism, the Jammu and Kashmir issue, Joe Biden’s presidency, the Italian-American mafia etc. Anurag has previously taught Criminal Jurisprudence and International Law at law schools in New Delhi.
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Ishita Maity
Nuclear Policy Fellow
Ishita is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Liberal Arts at the Alliance University, Bengaluru. Her doctoral research focuses on India’s nuclear policy and strategy across changing times, with a specific focus on India’s approach to nuclear multilateralism. She holds an M.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the Presidency University, Kolkata. Ishita has previously worked as a guest faculty (Political Science and International Relations) at the University of North Bengal. She has also worked at The Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, and Hi-Tech Global Management Services, New Delhi.
Kiran Mohan Vazhapully
Space Policy Fellow
Kiran is a senior lawyer working for an intergovernmental organisation based in New Delhi. He was an Erin J.C. Arsenault Graduate Fellow at the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University, where he specialised in space law. He is also a visiting professor at National Law School, Bangalore. He holds an integrated bachelor's degree in law (B.A./L.L. B Hons.) from National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS, Kolkata) and master’s degree in international law from University of Kerala. He is the founder of the Unified Heavens biweekly newsletter on global space law and policy.
Tobias Südhölter
European Affairs Fellow
Tobias has an avid interest in studying the European Union’s diplomatic and economic engagements in Asia. He holds a dual masters (M.A./M.Sc.) in European Studies from the Universities of Münster (Germany) and Twente (Netherlands). His research interests focus on the EU’s economic policy with particular reference to financial regulation and banking control. He has worked with the European Parliament and possesses an in-depth understanding of various European institutions and their roles with respect to facilitating European integration and policymaking. He has previously worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the Manipal Center for European Studies, MAHE, Manipal, India.