The role of higher education in the foreign policy of states has been increasing significantly in order to generate soft power. Nevertheless, the literature on the educational aspect of soft power has yet to be systematically reviewed. Therefore, this systematic review is conducted to delineate and analyze the major studies in the field of international higher education which indicates education as a soft power resource for a country. To identify the multiple and contrary arguments on the topic, this study reviewed 48 peer-reviewed articles published from 2001 to 2022. The data collected from the reviewed papers are organized into five sub-sections outlined in the results sections. The contradictions in the literature are examined within the sub-sections in order to understand the various perspectives on education as a resource of soft power. Through analyzing the data mentioned in the results section, this study provides a framework of the essential conditions to harness education as a soft power resource. Furthermore, this review also suggests prospects for future research in this area.

The article offers an assessment of Iran’s role in India’s foreign policy calculations vis-à-vis Sino-Pak axis. The changing geopolitical and geostrategic dynamics in the post-Cold War era have brought about new possibilities and opportunities in the Eurasian space. Given the geographical conditions and re-emergence of geopolitical competition, regional connectivity through ports has taken a pivotal position in bilateral and multilateral engagements. Therefore, the port geopolitics has become a buzzword in the regional connectivity. India has many geopolitical, geostrategic and geo-economic interests in the Eurasian region. However, the potential has not been realized yet due to the lack of geographical connectivity. In the backdrop of emerging Sino-Pak axis, their moves and countermoves have been limiting India’s multilateral interests including the connectivity across the Eurasian region. In these matrices, Iran’s Chabahar Port due to its strategic location has become a crucial enabler for India. However, Iran has offered investment opportunities even to China and Pakistan in the same project. The existing enmities/competition between India and China-Pakistan has made it difficult for New Delhi to convert the proposed project of Chabahar Port into reality. Against this background, the article would try to give answers to these questions; what are the regional dynamics regarding the Sino-Pak axis to block India’s connectivity with the Eurasian region? And how Iran’s Chabahar Port can be a helping factor in India’s counterbalancing strategy for Sino-Pak axis?

The SCO is one of the biggest geopolitical groupings in the world. It has provided a forum for its members, particularly, Russia and China, to cooperate on the set goals of the Eurasian re-integration. In contrast, SAARC cannot be termed as a successful organization, given the arch–rivalries between India and Pakistan. However, optimists believe that the geopolitical expansion, having India and Pakistan on board, the SCO would have the potential for economic and strategic cooperation. On the other hand, the evolving Sino-Pak axis vis-à-vis India has generated a view that China has offered an SCO platform to make its South Asia Policy a reality. Hence, an attempt has been made to assess the evolving speculations; will the geopolitical expansion of SCO unfold new opportunities or merely make SCO as another SAARC?

The ongoing debate on the conceptual underpinnings of constructivism and global health partnerships (GHPs) in global health studies has a dimension that deserves closer attention. This paper attempts to draw attention to a few aspects of the debate using Finnemore’s constructivist analysis. According to this study, global actors need to rethink their paradoxical notions of pandemic crisis survival in light of the growing demand for mobilizing diverse global health agents and the necessity of constructing complex GHPs to address challenges of international significance. A global response based on solidarity and multilateralism is the only way to effectively combat this pandemic. Against this backdrop, the article analyses this development through an ideational ontological case study of the GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. This article contributes to the debate by explaining how the GAVI Alliance fostered global collaboration and can serve as a template for future GHPs.

The ongoing pandemic COVID-19 has made it very clear that no one is safe until everyone is safe. But how can everyone be safe when the pandemic has broken every nerve of the economy and put an extra burden on the already crippled healthcare systems in low-income countries? Thus, the pandemic has changed the orientation of domestic as well as global politics, with many geopolitical shifts. The exponential growing infected cases and more than four million deaths has demanded a global response in terms of multilateralism. However, declining multilateralism and the need for its reforms was a much-delayed response. Given this context, this paper aimed to link the decline of multilateralism in the face of the pandemic by highlighting various instances of its failure and success; and highlighting the need for its revival. The article critically examines and evaluates the responses of multilateralism and global health diplomacy (GHD) during the pandemic. The ongoing black swan kind of event (an unexpected event) has obligated global leadership to think in terms of the revival of multilateralism through GHD. Historically, multilateralism through GHD has been shown to play an important role in managing and combating pandemics. The article further discusses various theoretical aspects such as sovereignty and hegemonic stability theory as reasons for the failing of multilateralism. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of foresight in reviving multilateralism in the pursuit of a more sustainable future.