T.V. Paul is Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University, Montreal, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He served as President of the International Studies Association (ISA) during 2016-17. He is the Founding Director of the Global Research Network on Peaceful Change (GRENPEC). Paul specializes in International Relations, especially international security and South Asia. He received his undergraduate education from Kerala University, India; MPhil in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Paul is the author or editor of 24 books, over 85 journal articles and book chapters, and has lectured at universities and research institutions internationally. His 8 authored books are: The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi (Oxford University Press, 2024); Restraining Great Powers: Soft Balancing from Empires to the Global Era (Yale University Press, 2018); The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World (Oxford University Press, 2014, with multiple editions and translations); Globalization and the National Security State (with N. Ripsman), (Oxford University Press, 2010); The Tradition of Non-use of Nuclear Weapons (Stanford University Press, 2009); India in the World Order (Cambridge University Press, 2002, with B. Nayar); Power versus Prudence: Why Nations Forgo Nuclear Weapons (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2000); and Asymmetric Conflicts: War Initiation by Weaker Powers (Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Paul is the editor or co-editor of 16 volumes: The New Cold War and Regional Orders in the 21st Century (co-editor and contributor with Markus Kornprobst, Georgetown University Press, forthcoming, 2025); International Organizations and Peaceful Change in World Politics (Co-editor & Contributor with Anders Wivel and Kai He), Cambridge University Press, 2024, forthcoming.; The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Change in International Relations, Oxford, 2021; International Institutions and Power Politics, with A. Wivel, Georgetown, 2019; India-China Maritime Competition, with R. Basrur and A. Mukherjee, Routledge, 2019; China-India Rivalry in the Globalization Era, Georgetown, 2018; The Accommodation of Rising Powers: Past, Present and Future, Cambridge, 2016; Status in World Politics, with W. Wholforth and D. Larson, Cambridge, 2014; International Relations Theory and Regional Transformation, Cambridge, 2012; South Asia’s Weak States: Understanding the Regional Insecurity Predicament, Stanford, 2010; Complex Deterrence: Strategy In the Global Age, with P.M. Morgan and J. J. Wirtz, Chicago, 2009; The India-Pakistan Conflict: An Enduring Rivalry, Cambridge, 2005; Balance of Power: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century, with J.J. Wirtz and M. Fortmann, Stanford, 2004; The Nation-State in Question, with G. J. Ikenberry and J.A. Hall, Princeton, 2003; International Order and the Future of World Politics, with J.A. Hall, Cambridge, 1999, 2000 (twice), 2001, 2002 & 2003; and The Absolute Weapon Revisited: Nuclear Arms and the Emerging International Order, with R. Harknett and J.J. Wirtz, Michigan, 1998 & 2000.
He has also co-edited 4 special journal issues: International Affairs, Double Issue on “Deglobalization? The Future of the Liberal International Order,” Fall 2021 (with Markus Kornpbrobst); Ethics and International Affairs Special Section on “International Institutions and Peaceful Change,” Fall 2020 (with Kai He and Anders Wivel); Asian Security on “China-India Naval Competition,” Spring 2019 (with Rajesh Basrur and Anit Mukherjee); and International Studies Review, 20(2), on “Understanding Change in World Politics,” June 2018, ISA Presidential Issue with J. Andrew Grant.
In November 2018, Paul was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada as a Senior Fellow. In December 2009, Paul’s Book, The Tradition of Non-use of Nuclear Weapons was selected for inclusion in the Peace Prize Laureate Exhibition honoring President Barack Obama by the Nobel Peace Center, Oslo. Power versus Prudence was selected as an ‘Outstanding Academic Title for 2001’ by the Choice Magazine and as a “Book for Understanding’ by the American Association of University Presses. In March 2005 Maclean Magazine’s Guide to Canadian Universities rated Paul as one of the “most popular professors” at McGill University and in May 2005 Paul became the recipient of High Distinction in Research Award by McGill’s Faculty of Arts. During 2009-12 he served as the Director (Founding) of the McGill University/Université de Montreal Centre for International Peace and Security Studies (CIPSS) which he helped to co-found. He has held visiting positions at Stanford University; Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Diplomatic Academy, Vienna; UC Berkeley; East-West Center, Honolulu; the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey; Harvard University; and as the KPS Menon Visiting Chair for Diplomacy and Erudite Fellow at the MG University, Kottayam, India.
He is the recipient of the 2024 International Studies Association (ISA)-Canada Distinguished Scholar Award. In 2024, he was honored with the establishment of T.V. Paul Best Book Award by the Global International Studies Section (GIRS) of ISA and in May 2024, with the creation of T.V. Paul Lecture series in Peace and Security by the Faculty of Arts at McGill University. In January 2023, he was selected as the first social science fellow under the Brain Gain program of the Kerala State Higher Education Council. In addition to President, during 2009-11, he served as the Chair of the International Security Section (ISSS) of the ISA (initiated the proposal for the creation of the Journal of Global Security Studies and the H-Diplo-ISS Forum along with Professor Robert Jervis of Columbia University); and in 2013-14 as Vice-President of ISA. As ISA president, he spearheaded a taskforce on improving conditions of Global South scholars in international studies. Since 2010 he has been serving as the editor of the Georgetown University Press book series: South Asia in World Affairs.
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