Mahesh Kushwaha is a PhD researcher at the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland. He is currently undertaking a three-month research mobility/secondment at the Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS) in Nepal under the EU-funded FEMENA project. Mahesh is an Erasmus Mundus Scholar, having completed his International Master’s in Security, Intelligence & Strategic Studies (IMSISS) with distinction from the University of Glasgow, Dublin City University, and Charles University in Prague. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts (International Studies) with high academic honors from Soka University of America, California, and has also studied at the Institut Catholique de Paris, France.
Prior to his doctoral studies, Mahesh worked as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy (CESIF) in Kathmandu, where he led major research initiatives on Artificial Intelligence and Diplomacy, China’s Engagement in Nepal, alongside extensive fieldwork on Nepal-India cross-border dynamics. He has also worked with the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) in New Delhi on a research exchange, and served as a consultant researcher for multiple organisations, including the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Nepal Office. He is the recipient of the prestigious Mo Dabo Prize (2023) for the Best Dissertation from the IMSISS Consortium, the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Scholarship, and full undergraduate financial aid from Soka University of America. His research interests encompass security and geopolitics, border, identity and nationalism, citizenship, and technology/AI governance. His doctoral research explores the securitization of Nepal’s borders with India and its implications on the identity, nationalism, and citizenship of the borderland Madhesi community.
PUBLICATIONS
Book Chapters & Reports
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2025. China’s Engagement in Nepal’s Infrastructure: Status, Issues and Challenges. CESIF-Nepal.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh, Neupane, Rajib, and Khanal, Arya. 2025. Artificial Intelligence and Diplomacy: A Case for Nepal’s AI Diplomacy. CESIF-Nepal.
- Barter, Shane J. and Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2022. “Civil War and Peace in the Asia-Pacific,” in Politics of the Asia-Pacific. University of Toronto Press.
- Khanal, Ajaya Bhadra, Kushwaha, Mahesh, and Shrestha, Sumeera. 2022. “People’s Perceptions, Experiences and GESI Dynamics of Nepal-India Border,” in Nepal-India Cross Border Relations in the Contemporary Context. CESIF-Nepal.
- Barter, Shane J. and Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2020. “Pakistan Christian Crisis” and “Iraq Muslim Crisis” in Religious Violence Today: Faith and Conflict in the Modern World, edited by Michael Jerryson. ABC–CLIO.
Blogs and Newspaper Articles (Selected)
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2023. “Nepali Migrant Workers in India: A Rite of Passage to Adulthood.” Blog Interview with Dr. Jeevan Sharma. Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), New Delhi.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2025. “Unpacking Nationality: Feminist Geopolitics and the Politics of Belonging.” Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2025. “The Many Revolutions that have Shaped Nepal.” The Indian Express.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2026. “The anti-corruption wave in Nepal is costing China its BRI advantage.” The Indian Express.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2026. “A tricky social media polarisation is emerging in Nepal. How will the government handle it?” The Kathmandu Post.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2019. “China: A Threat to Nepal’s Democracy?” The Kathmandu Post.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2024. “Rashtriya Swatantra Party: A Dwindling Hope.” Republica.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2024. “The AI Age: Redefining Politics, Democracy, and Society on Social Media.” Republica.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2020. “Nepal-India Border Dynamics.” Setopati.
- Kushwaha, Mahesh. 2020. “The Citizenship Debate.” Setopati.