The IWP Internship Experience: Anagha Chakravarti

My summer internship with The Institute of World Politics was invaluable, dynamic, and seamlessly tied together my academic interests with my future career goals. My goal was to focus on U.S. relations and engagement in the Indo-Pacific and also build on my general interest in foreign policy and security from the Cold War to the present. This was my first summer in D.C., and I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this program – the research work; the lectures and guest speaker events; the tours of prestigious think tanks, embassies, and relevant events; getting to know the faculty, staff, and other interns; and the coursework.

 As a Research Intern, I am incredibly grateful to have been able to work with Dr. Saba Sattar and gain a deeper holistic understanding of issues from her expertise on Indo-Pacific security and political relations as it concerns Sino-American competition. I was also able to increase my knowledge of my home country, India’s, foreign policy approach and its engagement with countries such as the U.S. through analyzing and researching articles from many local and international news sources. Supporting her on a long-term project on creating a coherent, sustainable, and practical framework for advancing Indo-American relations was exciting and relevant and helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses in this field.

I also took two relevant and rigorous courses including IWPO 627 Statecraft, International Affairs and Integrated Strategy and IWPO 711 The Indo-Pacific: Strategy Making in the Priority Theater. Both courses helped me transfer my knowledge from past undergraduate coursework, delve into timely primary source readings, improve my foundation on political theories, and practice my critical thinking, writing and research skills. They have prepared me well for my upcoming senior year in college when I will be taking courses in international security and U.S.-Asia affairs.

Some of my highlights from this program, in terms of our visits, include attending the conference hosted by Foreign Policy Magazine on NATO and cybersecurity due to its interdisciplinary discussion of collective security from the perspective of NATO officials, government members, and individuals from the private sector. I also enjoyed visiting various embassies, such as the Embassy of Morocco, Portugal, Austria, and Chile, and engaging with staff there. Listening to Jacques Pitteloud, Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States’s analysis of domestic issues and bilateral relations with Switzerland was enlightening as well.

Lastly, meeting and getting to know all the wonderful interns, each with their own interests, passions, and backgrounds, was my favorite part of this experience. I am also grateful for the unwavering support and enthusiasm of the IWP staff and faculty, especially Missy Pratt and Dr. Sattar. As an international student, studying international politics with a focus on security and development, coming back to IWP for summer 2024 will undoubtedly be one of my favorite memories from my undergraduate years in the U.S.

Anagha Chakravarti
IWP National Security and International Affairs Research Intern, Summer 2024
From Georgetown University

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