Dr. Shanthie Mariet D’Souza is Founder & President, Mantraya; Visiting Faculty and Member of Research & Advisory Committee at the Naval War College, Goa; Non-resident scholar, Middle East Institute, Washington D.C.; Research Fellow at WeltTrends-Institut für internationale Politik, Potsdam, Germany; International Advisor, Nordic Counter Terrorism Network, Helsinki, Finland; Member, Board of Studies, School of International & Area Studies, Goa University; Editorial board member of Small Wars & Insurgencies (Routledge: UK); Adviser for Independent Conflict Research and Analysis, London. She has conducted field research in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Africa, Australia, Jammu and Kashmir and India’s North East. Dr D’Souza’s research interests and expertise cover various topics including developmental studies, such as the politics of aid; gender and security, notably in Afghanistan; state and peace building; geopolitical trends in Asia; India's foreign and maritime policies; and the prospects of regional cooperation in South and South East Asia. She has conducted field research in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Africa, Australia, Jammu and Kashmir and India’s North East. Shanthie has worked with governmental and non-governmental sectors for more than a decade and conducted field based studies in various provinces of Afghanistan. Dr D’Souza has been a Founding Professor, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad (2021-2022); Visiting Fellow at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin, Germany (2022); Board Director at Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo (2018-2022) ; Visiting Research Associate at the School of Business & Governance, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia (2017); Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore ( 2010-14); Associate Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, New Delhi (2006-10); Fulbright Fellow and Visiting Research associate at South Asia Studies, The Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC( 2005-06). Among her most recent published work are edited books titled Countering Insurgencies and Violent Extremism in South and South East Asia (Cass Military Studies, Routledge: UK), Afghanistan in Transition: Beyond 2014?, co-edited books, Perspectives on South Asian Security and Saving Afghanistan. She has guest edited a special issue on “Countering insurgencies and violent extremism in South Asia” in Small Wars & Insurgencies (UK: Routledge), February 2017. She has contributed chapters to edited books, journal articles, encyclopedias, yearbooks and regional surveys and op-eds in the media. She has published in various international peer reviewed journals and her notable work on Afghanistan and India have been published in The Europa Regional Surveys of the World, Europa World. and Encyclopedia Britannica.