Indian-origin Paul Kapoor is set to succeed Donald Lu in the U.S. Department of State. U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Paul Kapoor as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia. He will assume the position after receiving final approval from the U.S. Senate.
This was reported by the Indian national news agency PTI. The U.S. Department of State confirmed on January 17 that Donald Lu’s tenure as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia had concluded. The South and Central Asia division of the U.S. Department of State manages relations between the U.S. and Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Paul Kapoor, a professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in National Security Affairs, is known for his analysis of South Asian politics, security, and international relations. He worked as a U.S. Department of State official from 2020 to 2021. During that time, he was involved in policy development related to the U.S. Department of State’s South and Central Asia, Indo-Pacific strategy, and U.S.-India relations.
According to the website of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School’s National Security Affairs program, Paul Kapoor is also a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He has authored at least four books on security, jihad, and South Asia. These include his own book titled Jihad as Grand Strategy: Islamist Militancy, National Security, and the Pakistani State, Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and the Conflict in South Asia. Additionally, he co-authored India, Pakistan and the Bomb: Debating Nuclear Stability in South Asia and The Challenges of Nuclear Security: U.S. and Indian Perspectives.