experts
Milan Vaishnav
Director and Senior Fellow, South Asia Program
MilanV email

about

Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program and the host of the Grand Tamasha podcast at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His primary research focus is the political economy of India, and he examines issues such as corruption and governance, state capacity, distributive politics, and electoral behavior. He also conducts research on the Indian diaspora.

He is the author of When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics (Yale University Press and HarperCollins India, 2017), which was awarded the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation book prize for the best non-fiction book on contemporary India published in 2017. He is also co-editor (with Devesh Kapur) of Costs of Democracy: Political Finance in India (Oxford University Press, 2018) and (with Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Devesh Kapur) of Rethinking Public Institutions in India (Oxford University Press, 2017). His work has been published in scholarly journals such as American Journal of Political Science, Asian Survey, Governance, India Review, Journal of Democracy, Perspectives on Politics, PS: Political Science and Politics, and Studies in Indian Politics. He is a regular contributor to several Indian publications.

Previously, he worked at the Center for Global Development, where he served as a postdoctoral research fellow, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an adjunct professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University (currently on leave) and has previously taught at Columbia and George Washington Universities. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University.

book
Institutional Roots of India’s Security Policy
Oxford University Press
affiliations
areas of expertise
South AsiaIndiaPakistanDemocracyForeign Policy
education
PhD, Political Science, Columbia University, MA, MPhil, Political Science, Columbia University, BA, International Relations, University of Pennsylvania 
languages
English
featured work
article
Decoding India’s 2024 Election Contest

As India gears up for general elections in 2024, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sits comfortably in pole position as the opposition struggles to play catch up.

article
In India, Foreign Policy Is on the 2024 Ballot

In the lead-up to the general elections, India’s rising status on the world stage is a big win for Modi in the eyes of many Indian voters.

commentary
Emissary
2024 Election to Watch: India

Modi and the BJP face an opposition coalition that has struggled with defections and other setbacks.

featured collections
collection
Politics of Opposition in South Asia
collection
Understanding India’s Diaspora

All work from Milan Vaishnav

filters
406 Results
event
Deciphering the Indian American Vote
October 31, 2024

A discussion about the political inclinations of Indian Americans in the leadup to the 2024 election

In The Media
in the media
Trump vs Harris On US Foreign Policy & Indian American Voting Trend

A conversation about how Indian Americans will be voting in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

· October 30, 2024
CNBC TV18
podcast
Understanding Irregular Indian Migration to the United States

Gil Guerra and Sneha Puri sit down with Milan too discuss the surge in Indian migrants arriving at the U.S. border and the push factors behind this emerging trend.

· October 29, 2024
Vote sign outside of a polling station as early voting begins on October 21, 2024, in Miami, Florida. Early voting runs from Oct. 21 through Nov. 3 in Miami-Dade and Broward. People head to the polls to decide, among other races, the next president of the United States.
paper
Indian Americans at the Ballot Box: Results From the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey

Ahead of the November U.S. election, a new Carnegie survey reveals the political preferences and issues animating Indian Americans, many of which challenge conventional electoral wisdom.

· October 28, 2024
podcast
Taking On India's Patriarchal Political Order

Political scientist Soledad Artiz Prillaman and Milan Vaishnav explore the reasons behind Indian women's low levels of political involvement and how patriarchy plays a role.

· October 22, 2024
podcast
The Future of India's Fiscal Federalism

Economist Arvind Subramanian joins Milan Vaishnav for a candid conversation on the looming crisis facing Indian federalism and potential solutions.

· October 15, 2024
podcast
Busting India’s Demographic Myths

Poonam Muttreja, a prominent advocate for women's health and reproductive rights, joins Milan Vaishnav this week to debunk myths surrounding India's overpopulation and conspiracy theories on the country's changing religious demographics.

· October 8, 2024
podcast
Dr. S. Jaishankar on the Future of U.S.-India Relations

This week's episode is a special edition of Grand Tamasha-- tune in as India's External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar joins Carnegie's President Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar for a fireside chat on the future of U.S.-India relations.

  • Dr. S. Jaishankar
· October 1, 2024
In The Media
in the media
Is India’s Fourth Party System Intact?

The resurgence of coalition politics in New Delhi and the presence of a stronger political opposition raise the question of whether the 2024 verdict reflects a repudiation of the fourth party system. A dispassionate analysis of newly available data suggests that many attributes of the new party system persist.

· September 30, 2024
Hindustan Times
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) flashes victory sign as he arrives at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters to celebrate the party's win in country's general election, in New Delhi on June 4, 2024.
paper
The Resilience of India’s Fourth Party System

Despite this spring’s electoral setback, the BJP retains its dominant position at the center of Indian politics.

· September 26, 2024