Shanthi Kalathil Explained

Nationality:American
Education:University of California, Berkeley (BA), London School of Economics (MSc)
Occupation:Foreign policy analyst, human rights advocate, former journalist
Employer:University of Southern California
Boards:National Democratic Institute, Radio Free Asia
Spouse:Jon Wolfsthal

Shanthi Kalathil (born 1972)[1] is an American foreign policy analyst and former journalist, currently serving as a Washington D.C.-based senior fellow at the University of Southern California's Center on Communication Leadership and Policy and a visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy, where her work focuses on strengthening global democratic resilience in countering authoritarian influence. She is also a board member of the National Democratic Institute and Radio Free Asia.

Kalathil was formerly Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights at the White House National Security Council during the Biden administration. Prior to this, Kalathil was a fellow at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal Asia in Hong Kong.

Her co-authored 2003 book, Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule, explores technology’s role in advancing the objectives and bolstering the legitimacy of authoritarian regimes.

Early life and education

Kalathil was raised in the US. Her mother (Lucia Tang) is a Taiwanese national and her father (James Kalathil) was of Indian descent. She holds a B.A. in communications from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.Sc. in comparative politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she focused on autocracies versus democracies.[2] [3] She is married to Jon Wolfsthal.[4]

Career

In the late 1990s, Kalathil was a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal Asia, based in Hong Kong. She joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as an associate in 2000. Her research focused on the role of information and technology in international affairs.[5]

From 2004 to 2006, Kalathil was a senior democracy fellow at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).[6] She also was a non-resident associate with Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and worked for the World Bank as a consultant on media and development.

Kalathil joined the Biden administration's National Security Council (NSC) in January 2021 as Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights after serving as Senior Director at the National Endowment for Democracy's International Forum for Democratic Studies. According to one of her colleagues at the NSC, covering the handover of Hong Kong from the U.K. to China in 1997 was among the events that caused Kalathil to leave journalism and pursue graduate studies. During her tenure, she was the lead organizer of the inaugural Summit for Democracy.[7] In February 2022, she left the NSC. She started private practice before joining University of Southern California's Center on Communication Leadership and Policy as a DC-based senior fellow in April 2023, leading expansion of the Center's portfolio on the intersections of democratic development, the information environment, and national security.[8] [9] In May 2023, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced entry bans over her and 499 other American citizens in response to the Biden administration's earlier sanctions on Russia.[10] In February 2024, Kalathil joined the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy as a visiting senior fellow, leading a new long-term initiative aimed to bolster global democratic resilience. [11]

Kalathil is a board member of the National Democratic Institute[12] and Radio Free Asia,[13] which she described as having “filled a critical role in combating Chinese disinformation and providing timely news to millions in Asia who would otherwise be in the dark."[14]

Research

In their 2003 book titled Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), drawing on cases from China, Cuba, Singapore, Vietnam, Burma, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, Kalathil and co-author Taylor Boas found that contrary to conventional wisdom, authoritarian regimes did not fear the advent of information technology but rather proactively advanced internet development to further their interests.[15] [16] [17] [18] [19] In a review for The China Quarterly, Christopher R. Hughes of the London School of Economics and Political Science noted that Kalathil and Boas broadened "the debate beyond issues of dissidents-versus-the-state and toward more complex issues concerning the relationship between technological and social change," but critiqued that its coverage of China is too limited.[20] John Ikenberry instead described the book's chapter on China, which illustrates how "Beijing has promoted the Internet while attempting to control its political impact by filtering and monitoring content and encouraging self-censorship," as "a particularly illuminating example."[21]

Publications

Books

Reports

Articles

Edited Volumes

Reviews

Testimonies

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kalathil . Jose . January 25, 2021 . American of Taiwanese-Indian descent given role in Biden administration . December 13, 2023 . Taiwan News.
  2. Web site: Shanthi Kalathil – USC Center on Communication Leadership and Policy . December 13, 2023 . communicationleadership.usc.edu.
  3. Web site: Shanthi Kalathil . December 14, 2023 . blogs.worldbank.org . en.
  4. Web site: Thompson . Alex . Sfondeles . Tina . December 8, 2021 . The ex-journo Biden's tapped to confront China . December 13, 2023 . POLITICO . en.
  5. Web site: Ms. Shanthi Kalathil . https://web.archive.org/web/20230502094122/https://carnegieendowment.org/experts/36 . May 2, 2023 . December 13, 2023 . Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
  6. Web site: Timor-Leste Media Assessment . December 13, 2023 . USAID.
  7. Web site: Thompson . Alex . Sfondeles . Tina . December 8, 2021 . The ex-journo Biden's tapped to confront China . December 13, 2023 . POLITICO . en.
  8. Web site: Gramer . Robbie . December 18, 2023 . Top White House Human Rights Official Leaving Post . December 13, 2023 . Foreign Policy . en-US.
  9. Web site: Shanthi Kalathil to Develop Democracy Program in D.C. – USC Center on Communication Leadership and Policy . December 14, 2023 . communicationleadership.usc.edu.
  10. Web site: May 19, 2023 . Foreign Ministry statement on new personal sanctions on US citizens . 2024-07-14 . mid.ru.
  11. Web site: GMF Launches Project to Pioneer Novel Technologies that Strengthen Democratic Resilience German Marshall Fund of the United States . 2024-07-14 . www.gmfus.org . en.
  12. Web site: September 12, 2022 . Shanthi Kalathil . https://web.archive.org/web/20230528000051/https://www.ndi.org/people/shanthi-kalathil . May 28, 2023 . December 13, 2023 . . en.
  13. Web site: Shanthi Kalathil . https://web.archive.org/web/20231030122844/https://www.rfa.org/about/directors/governance/shanthi-kalathil . October 30, 2023 . December 13, 2023 . . en.
  14. Web site: RFA Welcomes New Members to its Board . December 13, 2023 . Radio Free Asia . en.
  15. Book: The SARS epidemic: challenges to China's crisis management . 2004 . World Scientific . 978-981-238-948-0 . Wong . John . Singapore . Zheng . Yongnian.
  16. Mohr . LaKindra . 2007 . State Control of the Internet Reins in Cuba's Future . The SAIS Review of International Affairs . 27 . 2 . 151–152 . 1945-4716.
  17. Book: Zhang, Xiaoling . The transformation of political communication in China: from propaganda to hegemony . 2011 . World Scientific . 978-981-4340-93-9 . Series on contemporary China . Singapore Hackensack, NJ.
  18. Harold . Scott W. . Kamijima-Tsunoda . Rika . 2021 . Winning the 5G Race with China: A U.S.-Japan Strategy to Trip the Competition, Run Faster, and Put the Fix In . Asia Policy . 16 . 3 . 75–104 . 1559-0968.
  19. Web site: Neary . Lynn . February 20, 2003 . The Internet and Authoritarian Regimes . July 14, 2024 . NPR.
  20. Hughes . Christopher R. . 2003 . Chase . Michael . Mulvenon . James . Kalathil . Shanthi . Boas . Taylor C. . Huaijiang . Song . Anfu . Li . Binggang . Song . China and the Internet: A Question of Politics or Management? . The China Quarterly . 175 . 818–824 . 0305-7410.
  21. News: Ikenberry . G. John . 2003-01-01 . Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule . 2024-07-13 . Foreign Affairs . en-US . 82 . 1 . 0015-7120.
  22. Book: Kalathil . Shanthi . Open networks, closed regimes: the impact of the internet on authoritarian rule . Boas . Taylor C. . 2003 . . 978-0-87003-194-6 . 1. print., [Nachdr.] . A Carnegie Endowment book . Washington, DC.
  23. Web site: Kalathil . Shanthi . The Evolution of Authoritarian Digital Influence: Grappling with the New Normal . December 14, 2023 . National Defense University.
  24. Web site: April 16, 2014 . Adapting for the Global Diplomatic Arena: A Report of the Aspen Institute Dialogue on Diplomacy and Technology . December 14, 2023 . The Aspen Institute . en-US.
  25. Book: Kalathil, Shanthi . Developing Independent Media as an Institution of Accountable Governance: A How-To Guide . June 29, 2011 . The World Bank . 978-0-8213-8629-3 . en . 10.1596/978-0-8213-8629-3.
  26. Web site: Kalathil . Shanthi . March 1, 2022 . Community and Communalism in the Information Age . December 13, 2023 . Brown Journal of International Affairs.
  27. Web site: Kalathil . Shanthi . Shanthi Kalathil . Ludwig . Jessica . Walker . Christopher . January 2020 . The Cutting Edge of Sharp Power . December 14, 2023 . . en-US.
  28. Web site: Ludwig . Christopher Walker, Shanthi Kalathil, Jessica . December 18, 2023 . Forget Hearts and Minds . December 14, 2023 . Foreign Policy . en-US.
  29. News: Walker . Christopher . Kalathil . Shanthi . Ludwig . Jessica . August 16, 2018 . How Democracies Can Fight Authoritarian Sharp Power . en-US . Foreign Affairs . December 13, 2023 . 0015-7120.
  30. Web site: Kalathil . Shanthi . Shanthi Kalathil . China in Xi's "New Era": Redefining Development . December 14, 2023 . . en-US.
  31. Web site: Kalathil . Shanthi . November 4, 2009 . Dot Com for Dictators . December 14, 2023 . Foreign Policy . en-US.
  32. News: Kalathil . Shanthi . July 1, 1997 . Democrats Vow in Calm Protest To Remain Voice of Hong Kong . en-US . Wall Street Journal . December 13, 2023 . 0099-9660.
  33. News: Kalathil . Shanthi . March 17, 1997 . U.S. Business School Setting Up Program on Chinese Companies . en-US . Wall Street Journal . December 13, 2023 . 0099-9660.
  34. Web site: Diplomacy, Development and Security in the Information Age . December 13, 2023.
  35. Web site: Kalathil . Shanthi . October 2017 . Globalization Chinese-Style . December 14, 2023 . . en-US.
  36. Web site: March 21, 2018 . Statement by Shanthi Kalathil, Director, International Forum for Democratic Studies, National Endowment for Democracy, Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Hearing on "U.S. Responses to China's Foreign Influence Operations" . December 13, 2023 . congress.gov.
  37. Web site: anminda . 2017-04-07 . Charting the Rise of a Global Information Power . 2024-07-14 . China Digital Times (CDT) . en-US.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Shanthi Kalathil".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.