The Hectorica is my own website. I write here about international relations, foreign policy and history. I started it because I wanted a place to put down what I read and understand, and to explain difficult topics so that a student or an ordinary reader can follow them without losing the academic side. I run the site alone and write every article myself. An article usually begins with a book or a research paper that I read carefully. Then I write about it in my own words and try to connect it to the bigger questions in the field. My sources are listed at the end, so you can check them and read further yourself. I publish new articles regularly.
ABOUT ME
My name is Sikandar Khan. I did my bachelor's in Pakistan Studies at Islamia College, Peshawar, and that is where my interest in the history and politics of South Asia began. My research project looked at Pakistan-United States relations from 1947 to 1955, mainly at how Pakistan shaped its foreign policy in those early years. What stayed with me from that work is how much a young state's decisions depend on its security worries and on the partners it can actually find. I am now doing my M.Phil. in International Relations at the University of Peshawar. Along the way I have also finished a few short courses: Peacekeeping-Intelligence Fundamentals with the United Nations System Staff College, two Open University OpenLearn courses (Introducing International Relations, and Concepts and Theories in International Relations), and a leadership and problem-solving course from the University of Illinois Chicago.
I have given academic presentations on the Kashmir conflict, the British educational system in the Indian subcontinent and world history. I am also writing a book, The Art of Diplomacy: From Ancient to Modern Age, which follows how diplomacy developed from the ancient world to today. It is not finished yet and has not been published.
This website is an independent project and not a university publication. The opinions in it are mine. If you find a mistake in any article, please tell me through the Contact page. Once I have checked it, I will correct it.