On 24 March 2004, the IISS hosted a Special Round Table Discussion with Dr Robert G. Wirsing, a Professor in the College of Security Studies, Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, US Pacific Command.
Dr Wirsing came to the Asia-Pacific Center from the University of South Carolina where he was a Professor of International Studies and a member of the Department of Government and International Studies since 1971. He has held visiting appointments at the School of International Studies, United States Army JFK Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg (1982-84); the Department of Politics, University of Karachi, Pakistan (spring 1985); the Department of Politics, MS University of Baroda, Gujarat, India (fall 1985); and the Department of International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan (1985-86). Dr. Wirsing was also a research associate of the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan, in the winter 1996.
Dr Wirsing holds a Ph.D. in international studies from the Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver. Besides his wide speaking commitments, Dr Wirsing is an author and co-author of several books, including ‘Socialist Society and Free Enterprise Politics: A Study of City Politics in India’ (Vikas Publishers, 1977); ‘Pakistan's Security Under Zia, 1977-1988’ (St. Martin's Press, 1991); and ‘India, Pakistan, and the Kashmir Dispute’ (St. Martin's Press, 1994). Dr Wirsing has been an executive editor of the journal Asian Affairs since 1992.
At the IISS, Dr Wirsing gave a presentation on ‘SAARC: Alternative Futures’. This meeting was off-the-record.
