Dr Sasikumar Sundaram

Overview

Dr Sasikumar Sundaram is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of International Politics at City, University of London, Chair of the Global South Caucus of the International Studies Association (ISA), and a Thematic Lead on Resolving Uncertainty and Addressing Crises theme of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded Doctoral Training Partnership programme. He directs the Global Disorder Group at City St' Georges, University of London. 

Dr Sundaram is the author of Rhetorical Powers: How Rising States Shape International Order (New York: Columbia University Press, 2026), which examines the power politics of India, Brazil, and China in the international hierarchy. His main research interests lie in International Relations Theory, role of rhetoric, discourse, and narratives in politics, non-Western political thought, Status and Reputation concerns of Global South states, and foreign and Security Policies of India, Brazil, and China. His research has been published in International Theory, International Affairs, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of International Political Theory, and Journal of Global Security Studies, among other places. 

Dr Sundaram earned his doctorate in 2017 from Central European University (CEU). In his doctoral years, he taught in Brazil, engaged with higher education internationalization project in Myanmar, and researched with Erasmus-Mundus scholarship at the Nordic Institute of Asia Studies (NIAS), Denmark. Thereafter, he was a postdoctoral researcher in International Relations at the University of São Paulo, Brazil and American University, Washington DC. Before his PhD, he worked at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (now MP-IDSA), New Delhi; held a visiting researcher position at the Norwegian Institute of Defence Studies (IFS), Oslo; and worked on a major research project on Indian Parliament and India’s nuclear and missile policy making.

Qualifications

• PhD in International Relations, Central European University, Hungary, 2012 - 2017
• M.A. International Relations and European Studies, Central European University, Hungary, 2011 - 2012
• M.A. Public Administration, University of Madras, India, 2004 - 2006
• B.Com Accounting and Management, American College, Madurai, India, 2001 - 2004

Administrative roles

• Chair of the Global South Caucus, International Studies Association, March 2026 - April 2028
• Chair Professional Development Committee, International Studies Association, March 2026 - April 2027
• Vice Chair of the Global South Caucus, International Studies Association, April 2024 - April 2026
• Thematic Lead on Resolving Uncertainty and Addressing Crises, South-East Network for Social Science (SENSS), January 2024 - present

Languages

Portuguese (can read, write, understand spoken, peer review) and Tamil (can read, write, speak, understand spoken)

Expertise

Geographic Areas

• Asia - South Central
• Americas - Latin

Publications by category