Biography

Pooja Arora is an academic and policy consultant whose work navigates the intricate crossroads of international political economy, international security, emerging technologies, and strategic diplomacy. Her consulting experience includes advising the Digital Transformations Lab at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies and working as a freelance AI trainer focused on ethical annotation and mitigating biases in AI systems. She has taught India's foreign policy and trade strategy at both the University of Melbourne and the Indian School of Public Policy.

She earned an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and an MA with distinction in Political Science and International Relations from Indira Gandhi National Open University. Her research rigorously examines the implications of artificial intelligence on global security dynamics, emphasizing autonomous weapon systems and international regulatory responses. She has submitted her PhD thesis to Jawaharlal Nehru University and is awaiting its defense in June 2025.

She is the co-founder of The Pax Indica newsletter addressing complex geopolitical and technological challenges of the 21st century, Pooja has published extensively in several international outlets. 

Beyond academia, Pooja actively engages in policy advocacy and scholarly discourse, serving as a reviewer for esteemed journals and as executive secretary of the Indian Association of International Studies. She is also an award-winning game designer, having won the Government of India's national Toycathon competition. Her designs include a simulation of India's electoral process, a counterfactual history game on post-independence India, and an international trade strategy game aimed at college students. She has also been recognized for her innovative design of the 'Cool Ride Helmet,' a concept that combines road safety with comfort for riders in high-temperature environments. She currently serves as the Publicity officer of the Theory Section at the International Studies Association.