One of our main activities is organising and hosting Luncheon Briefings on pertinent topics of EU-Asia relations. Beginning with an informal lunch, the Briefings usually last for 1.5 hours, including questions.

Attendees include EIAS members and other interested parties.

Experts wishing to discuss a possible topic for a Lucheon Briefing are invited to contact EIAS Direct Dr Willem van der Geest.

Democracy And Decentralisation In India: Local Government In Madhya Pradesh
25 November, EIAS, Brussels

Since independence, India has made repeated attempts to find a political space for panchayats (local councils). Constitutionalising panchayats in 1992 has met with mixed success in Indian states.

The case of panchayats in Madhya Pradesh will be used to illustrate the capacity of the present political system to provide genuine support to the project of decentralisation and local democracy.

A briefing by Dr Girish Kumar, a Fellow in Political Science at the Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi. Discussant: Dr Apurba Kundu, EIAS Senior Research Fellow.

Letter of Invitation (pdf)