About Us

Who are we?

Usanas Foundation is a geopolitics and security affairs organization based in India, registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, as a non-profit and a non-government organization. We are an apolitical and non-partisan organization. We engage in a range of activities to produce an unbiased and cross-disciplinary analysis of global events. We believe that the art of diplomacy does not evolve in bird sanctuaries of hawks and doves. Our approach is realistic and sensible, making way for a nuanced understanding of a diverse range of factors shaping global events and decision-making. Our credo is to support governments, scholars, journalists, and businesses in building a multi-dimensional, cross-disciplinary understanding of international affairs while making informed decisions. We facilitate the exchange of ideas, thoughts, experiences, and perceptions between the relevant stakeholders through our security dialogues, articles, forecasts, webinars, and conferences, giving a realistic and sensible framework, which we also call the 'Usanas framework' to decision-making.

 

Mission Statement-

In the fast transforming world where the old definitions, institutions, structures, beliefs, and perceptions that defined the contours of geopolitics; diffuse and dilute, generating fears, complexities, and uncertainties, we equip our audience to make sense of it from a realistic lens and sensible approach, and take better decisions.

 

Vision

We believe in promoting world peace, prosperity, liberty, and security as expressed in the following old Sanskrit verse-

oṃ sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ
sarve santu nirāmayāḥ
sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu mā kaścidduḥ khabhāgbhaveta
oṃ  śāntiḥ  śāntiḥ  śāntiḥ

(May all sentient beings be at peace,
may no one suffer from illness,
May all see what is auspicious; may no one suffer.
Om peace, peace, peace.)

We believe in democratic, multicultural world order tolerant of diverse religious beliefs, ideologies, cultures, and lifestyles, as expressed the following old aphorism from Upnishads-

Ekam Sat, Vipra Bahuda Vadanti

(Truth is one, however; the wise men call it by different names)

 In order to maintain global peace, the world of 'geopolitics' should be seen as 'consciousness' governed by moral, spiritual, and humane concerns; and not merely as an interplay of mechanical, interest-based, strategic calculations based on animal spirits, human greed, expansionist ambitions, and revivalist designs.

 We believe that the international arena is both an 'order' and a 'jungle' of various interest groups.  There are sovereign, international, and non-state actors underlying the twin realities of anarchy and order, defining the world order. At Usanas, we attempt to make sense of the interplay and interactions of the diverse actors and the world order's consequent evolution.

In today's scenario, when the great power rivalries and competitions are back, and the nuclear arms race is in a revival mode; the world leaders, intelligence agencies, intellectuals, and diplomats need a 'spiritual calling' to understand the chaos that pervades the international system in the process of sensible decision making.

This 'spiritual calling' in decision-making cannot be achieved through existing narrow elitist perspectives of compartmentalized, overly idealistic thought-streams, which manifest in the universalization of one particular socio-cultural value-system, notions, traditions, and beliefs. The prerequisite to the 'spiritual calling' is deciphering the world order with a realistic and humane lens, providing space for the local patterns, norms, and cultural values to help build a secure, harmonious society to flourish together.

"Only once you know it, perceive it crystal clear, and understand it, it begins to change for the better."

 

What sets us apart?

We step ahead of the engagements of typical think tanks working with a confined group of diplomats, military veterans, and scholars. We believe in making an impact at a broader level, transforming thoughts, changing minds, and manufacturing voices that affect foreign-policy decision-making in democracies. Our interface is with popular opinions and sentiments, enabling us to explore what algorithms, computer programs like stata and excel, and game-theories fail to do. Our robust network on the ground furnishes us with information in which OSINT(Open source Intelligence) leaps over and prioritizes higher-level intelligence.

We intend to make an impact not just on the current decision-making and scholarship, but also shape the opinions at a broader level through our webinars, active participation in academic activities, and various programs for international scholars, professionals, journalists, diplomats, security personnel, and the enthusiastic students aspiring to build a career in foreign policy.

We are not a think tank located in a capital city with a narrow vision that looks at foreign policy issues only from the stand-point of multiple power centers operating from the capital city. We invite voices from the small towns, rural areas on issues that matter to India and the globe. It goes in line with our firm belief in the spirit of "glocal," i.e., global plus local.

Story Behind Usanas

The school of Usanas is one of the four primary schools of politico-economic thought during the later Vedic period (1000 BC- 600 BC) in India. The others include the school of Brihaspati, The school of Manu, The School of Kautilya. The school of Usanas declares that there is only one science and that the science of government; for, they say, it is in that science that all other sciences have their origin and end.

(Kautilya's Arthashastra)

 According to the school of the Manavas, there are only three sciences the Vedas, Economics, and Politics; the school of Brihaspati reduces the sciences to two, namely, Economics and Politics, while that of Usanas regards the Science of Government as the only science, all other branches of knowledge being dependent on it.

 

Very little is known about the political works of these schools besides the Kautilya's Arthasastra. It is believed that Sukracharya was the author of Sukraniti. He is also known by other names, such as Usanas, Kavi, Bhargava, Maghabhava, and the rest. As a thinktank, we believe in the "science of government" but may disagree that this is the only science.

 

Our Team

Our team includes geopolitical analysts from various backgrounds, including diplomats, International relations academics, technology experts, philosophers, intelligence professionals, armed forces veterans, and journalists with extensive field experience. In our analysis, forecasts, reports, and opinions, we cut the "clutter" and separate "noise" from the sound.

Follow us on twitter _ @UsanasF 

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