Dr. Varuna Shankar is Head of Government Relations and Business Development at India’s World Magazine in New Delhi. She completed her doctorate in International Relations at the School of Liberal Arts, GD Goenka University, Gurugram. Her thesis focused on Japanese Soft Power Diplomacy in India. She is a Non-Resident Vasey Fellow at the Pacific Forum in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Her research focuses on the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region, particularly Japanese domestic and foreign policy and Indian foreign policy. She holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Delhi. She also writes for social media platforms, including The Diplomat, Japan Forward, Japan Times, Hindustan Times, The Times of India, South Asian Voices, and various newspapers.