Photo of Arzan Tarapore

Arzan Tarapore, PhD

  • Research Scholar at CISAC

Biography

Arzan Tarapore is a Research Scholar whose research focuses on Indian military strategy and regional security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Prior to his scholarly career, he served for 13 years in the Australian Defence Department in various analytic, management, and liaison positions, including operational deployments and a diplomatic posting to the Australian Embassy in Washington, DC.

His academic work has been published in the Journal of Strategic Studies, International Affairs, The Washington Quarterly, Asia Policy, and Joint Force Quarterly, among others, and his policy commentary frequently appears on platforms such as Foreign Affairs, the Hindu, the Indian Express, The National Interest, the Lowy Institute's Interpreter, the Brookings Institution’s Lawfare, and War on the Rocks.

Tarapore joined Stanford University in September 2020. Prior to joining CISAC, he led the South Asia Initiative at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford. He previously held research positions at Georgetown University, the East-West Center in Washington, the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, and the RAND Corporation.

He earned a PhD in war studies from King's College London, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a BA (Hons) from the University of New South Wales. Follow his commentary on Twitter @arzandc and his website at arzantarapore.com.

publications

Journal Articles
January 2023

Zone Balancing: India and the Quad's New Strategic Logic

Author(s)
cover link Zone Balancing: India and the Quad's New Strategic Logic
Journal Articles
August 2021

Almost Parity: Understanding the India-Pakistan Conventional Military Balance

Author(s)
cover link Almost Parity: Understanding the India-Pakistan Conventional Military Balance
Journal Articles
July 2021

Indian Ocean Strategic Futures

Author(s)
cover link Indian Ocean Strategic Futures

In The News

Portrait of Arzan Tarapore and text: "Q&A with Arzan Tarapore"
Q&As

Internal Balancing Will Determine India’s Relationships with the US and China, Argues APARC’s Newest Research Scholar

Indo-Pacific security expert Arzan Tarapore, whose appointment as a research scholar at APARC begins on September 1, discusses India’s military strategy, its balancing act between China and the United States, and his vision for revitalizing the Center’s research effort on South Asia.
cover link Internal Balancing Will Determine India’s Relationships with the US and China, Argues APARC’s Newest Research Scholar