Dr. Smita Tiwary is an Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the School of International Studies, JNU, specialising on migration, diaspora and foreign policy of India. Before joining SAU, she was teaching at Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi. Earlier, she was a Fellow at Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML), and a Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi, dealing with issues of security and foreign policies. Briefly, she has also taught at NMCPCR, Jamia Millia Islamia, and couple of colleges at the University of Delhi taking UG and PG courses, such as, Political Theory, Theories of International Relations, India’s Foreign Policy, Understanding Security, Human Security, Citizenship and Governance, Peace and Conflict in South Asia, Comparative Politics etc.

She has been engaged with research on migration, diaspora and transnationalism, with a particular focus on India’s diaspora policy and broader patterns of South Asian migration. Her work also explores the complexities of migration and diaspora governance, situating these within the larger framework of India’s foreign and neighbourhood policies. She has also been interested in the intersections of traditional and non-traditional security studies in international relations, which provide critical insights into how mobility, identity, and security are intertwined. Building on this foundation, she is eager to further expand her research into new avenues that connect these themes, enriching both academic debates and policy discussions.

She was part of an international project on “Migration, Pandemic and Responses from the Third Sector: Lessons from Brazil and India”, jointly conducted by Queen Mary, University of London, Cedeplar Brazil, and GRFDT, New Delhi, in the year 2021, where she was the lead from GRFDT. Further, she also participated as a GRFDT lead on another international project on “Urban Sanctuary, Migrant Solidarity and Hospitality in Asia”, conducted by Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS), Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), Canada in 2025. 

Her work has been presented at several international and national academic institutions, including University of Western Cape, South Africa, Asia Pacific Young Scholars Workshop, organised by CSCAP, Beijing, China, Center for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS) of the University of Göttingen, Germany, Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), Shimla, Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Trivandrum, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS), Kolkata etc. among others.

She has been academically active with various organisations such as Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), Centre for Studies in International Relations (CSIR), Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) etc. She has been part of many research projects and has several national and international publications to her credit.