Rate My Professor Ashok Sharma

Dr. Ashok Sharma is a Visiting Fellow in the School of Humanities & Social Sciences at UNSW Canberra, Australian Defence Force Academy. He holds a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science from Ramjas College, Delhi University, and M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in American Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Early in his career, he worked at New Delhi-based think tanks including the Observer Research Foundation, Centre for Air Power Studies, and Centre for Land Warfare Studies, as well as Delhi University, before relocating to Australasia in 2008. That year, he served as Endeavour Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Australian National University's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. Subsequent appointments included Visiting Academic at the University of Waikato, Fellow at the New Zealand-India Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, and Fellow at the Australia-India Institute, University of Melbourne. Joining UNSW Canberra at ADFA in November 2016, he also holds the position of Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canberra's Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis. There, he headed the South Asia Strategic, State Fragile and Security Program and was Conjoint Head of Indo-Pacific Strategic Issues and Major Powers Studies at the National Asian Security Studies Centre. He currently serves as Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Auckland Branch.

Dr. Sharma specializes in international relations and security studies, with research interests encompassing great power politics in the U.S.-China-India strategic geometry across South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, ethnic lobbying in U.S. foreign policy, the Quadrilateral Alliance, India’s domestic politics, foreign and defence policy, U.S.-India foreign, defence, and security relations, India’s relations with Australia and New Zealand, and global security issues such as terrorism, nuclear concerns, and energy security geopolitics. Recognized as a leading expert on India’s global positioning and India-U.S. geopolitics, he has published extensively. Key works include the books Indian Lobbying and Its Influence in US Decision Making: Post-Cold War (Sage Publications, 2017) and India’s Pursuit of Energy Security: Domestic Measures, Foreign Policy and Geopolitics (Sage Publications, 2019). His journal articles feature 'The India-New Zealand Indo-Pacific partnership' (New Zealand International Review, 2025), '"A new era of co-operation" -The India–US strategic partnership under Modi and Biden' (New Zealand International Review, 2024), and 'No stopping in tightening India-Australia ties' (New Zealand International Review, 2023). He has contributed numerous book chapters, over 50 conference presentations, and extensive creative written works.