Jaideep Saikia is a leading terrorism and conflict theorist with over 25 years of experience in security and strategic affairs. His expertise spans Islamist militancy, insurgency, radicalization, cross-border terrorism, and the geopolitics of Northeast India — a region he has studied with unmatched depth and granularity. He has authored and edited several influential works, including Terror Sans Frontiers, Frontier in Flames, Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalisation, Bangladesh: Treading the Taliban Trail, and Point of Impact, establishing him as a foremost authority on counterterrorism and regional security.

Educated at the Rashtriya Indian Military College, St. Stephen’s College (University of Delhi), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Saikia has served in senior advisory roles to the Governments of India and Assam, including within India’s National Security Council Secretariat. He is currently Chief Professor of Practice at The Global University, Itanagar.

Saikia was the sole Asian Irregular Warfare Fellow at West Point (2022) and a US Department of State International Visitor (2003). He has participated in Track II Dialogues with Bangladesh, China, Japan, and Myanmar, and contributed to a United Nations University project on peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

The first civilian to receive the Eastern Army Commander’s Commendation, he has been recognised as the “Unsung Czar of India’s National Security” by a distinguished panel of senior Indian officials and policymakers.