Postgraduate Research Fellowship Report - Neha Tetali
Neha Tetali, a second year PhD candidate in Peace Studies at the School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies, was one of last year's recipients of a TRiSS Postgraduate Fellowships.
She used the funds to present her work at a conference in Belfast.
"The TRiSS PG Fellowship has helped me grow my research beyond my PhD. It has also boosted my confidence as an emerging scholar. In the first and second year of my PhD, I worked on a project that drew from my PhD research, comprising a theoretical assessment of current Feminist Foreign Policy practices, and how they might be problematic. It resulted in me writing a paper titled, "How an Indian postcolonial feminist critique rooted in lived experience can reimagine and reconstruct Feminist Foreign Policy."
"Through the TRiSS funds, I was able to present this work at the Conflict Research Society Conference (Belfast, September 2022), and the Political Studies Association of Ireland Conference (Waterford, October 2022)." Neha said.
"Over the next few months, incorporating feedback from the conferences and my thesis committee, I was able to build on that work further. I will be presenting an updated version of my paper this year at Annual South Asia Conference of the Ireland India Institute (Dublin City University, April 2023) and the British International Studies Association Conference (Glasgow, June 2023). Also with the support of TRiSS, I was also able to secure membership of these associations and societies, gaining access to their invaluable journals, newsletters, workshops and opportunities."
Research
Neha's research examines 'Feminist Foreign Policy' in the interdisciplinary context of Peace Studies. Especially looking at the inconsistencies of current systems of peace, she investigates: Does Feminist Foreign Policy give voice to postcolonial feminist concerns? What feminist ideas are at work in India's advocacy for gender equality in its engagements with multilateral institutions?"My research furthers critical perspectives of International Relations, which critique mainstream approaches based on them being exclusionary and legitimizing power imbalances of the global system. The long-term goal of my work is to contribute ways in which postcolonial nations, specifically India, can put gender concerns to the forefront of their foreign policies, and, to further gender equality and aid women in conflict."
Background
Neha's passion for research stems from her unconventional undergraduate degree. Pursuing mass media and journalism was the starting point in her career. Back in 2014, India was seeing the governance of a new party and it was an interesting time. She learnt that she had a curiosity to learn about current issues, a passion to be vocal about them through the written word. Aligning with her interest in current politics and gender issues, she chose to pursue a Master of Arts (MA) in Society and Culture.
"The MA programme helped me translate my passion and practical undergraduate tutelage into formal academia. In my MA dissertation, I used qualitative methodology comprising critical textual analysis, and argued that India's commitment to legal pluralism has compromised gender equality. This dissertation helped me develop proficiency in methodology, and get a detailed understanding of India's policies with respect to gender equality, both domestically and internationally."
"I have always been deeply influenced by the changing world around me, and it contributes immensely to my work. With the world's political climate of rising right-wing nationalism, issues of marginalised women's constitutional rights, and postcolonial border issues resurfacing and taking precedence, I decided that I want to pursue a higher research degree in decoding foreign policy in postcolonial nations, and how feminist theory can navigate those waters. In my studies on the postcolonial world, I was intrigued by the shared similarities of conflict, peace processes and imperial history that India and Ireland have."
Neha said, "As is evident from my career trajectory, I have always been a child of interdisciplinarity, and I'm continuing that tradition in my PhD in Peace Studies. Through my exposure to several fields of study, and now pursuing Peace Studies, I have understood that India is often recognised for furthering peace and non-violence as political methods of resistance, and Ireland is recognised for its successful peace negotiations with respect to Northern Ireland. However, peace studies as a subject of research in both these postcolonial nations is a nascent field. Through a PhD in Peace Studies, I want to contribute to the development of 'peace research' as a career. My long-term aspiration in pursuing this topic and being in research is that I want my work to contribute to developing an inclusive feminist intervention in postcolonial policymaking, and to decentre currently dominant Western patriarchal discourses."