I write about why the SIR matters, beyond the question of its effects on electoral outcomes. What is at stake is the legitimacy of Indian elections. t.co/x6xD7nTO0T?s...

The only question that matter is not whether SIR made this or that party win or lose, but the fact that millions of voters could not cast their vote - by design - and were told to try again next time.

In this piece, I use @PippaN15 's electoral integrity chain framework to explain why the rules of the game cannot be changed unilaterally. This is a road that only has bad outcomes. economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-com…

Millions in India stripped of vote before critical state election, as government seeks to ‘purify’ electoral roll

As a donor who is at present endeavoring to fund and set up a scholarship with the university's Hutchins Center, may I say that if "viewpoint diversity" -- politicized shitspeak for protecting weaker ideas from better ones -- encompasses any part of my effort, I'm suing to get the money back.

an often forgotten part of far-right history nowadays is how the "race realist" movement is linked to other forms of bigoted pseudoscience - e.g. misogyny, transphobia, xenophobia, among others. these are not, and have never been, serious academics. they're explicitly racist frauds

My take on the politics of India's 2026 budget. Banking on expectation of long term benefits rather than short-term tangible ressource allocation.

My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.

My two cents on the Bihar results. The MGB failed to provide voters with reasons to vote for it: m.economictimes.com/opinion/et-c...

I recast the question of dynasticism in its broader elitist context, in @timesofindia. True in Bihar, true in India.

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand. "Doesn't explain beyond India"

Word.

When Institutions Work: Why Nicolas Sarkozy's Conviction Is Remarkable It is a rare instance of assertion of the rule of law and of the principle of equality before the law. thewire.in/world/when-i...

My piece on the role of caste in Bihar politics.

...there is a fundamental difference between curbing caste and concealing caste. ...Making caste invisible does not make it disappear. ...Dominance continues quietly, while democratic expression loses one of its tools. My piece on the caste display ban in UP m.economictimes.com/opinion/et-c...

Deeply saddened that Sankarshan Thakur has passed away. A fiercely independent man, friend to young and seasoned journalists and always generous and patient with scholars. A loss for his beloved home state of Bihar, to journalism, and to all of us.

My advisor at Clemson was a Chicago history PhD, and I spent a summer working on my Latin at Chicago while I was at Brown. This is truly awful. But the Dalek references are top notch. 🤖

Un des meilleurs spécialistes de l’Inde contemporaine, @gillesverniers.bsky.social, a passé le printemps à enseigner cette matière à 40 étudiants de @sciencepo-udem.bsky.social. Quelle chance!

Looking for a good summer reading list? Read the Naval Academy’s list of removed books www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

For those who thought that only social scientists and humanities scholars would be affected. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...

No, Mr. President, you cannot illegally arrest and detain legal US residents because of their political views or opinions. In America, we have a little something called the First Amendment. Throwing protesters in jail is yet another step on the path to authoritarianism.

National parks were the main places I wanted my kids to see, and I wrote about them in THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP. Breaks my heart that the book is coming out as Trump tries to make good on his plans to destroy them. I hope my book helps the effort to fight back. www.thelastamericanroadtrip.com

Vague enough for deniability,but general enough to terrorize. Obviously there is a hierarchy of victims, but don't assume you are safe because you are white, pro-Israel, U.S. citizen, whatever. This is not about terrorism, anti-semitism or "anti-Americanism". This is about total control!

One day, we'll look back on this as just Step 1 of removing women from any position of public authority. No one is making a fuss, because it's just women, so Step 2 will be easier. The broligarchs have already stated repeatedly that they regard women's right to vote in America as a "mistake."

This Zadie Smith essay is so incredibly good www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

Amherst at dusk

"Over the years, I watched some batshit events. This one was right up there. Men and women fighting imaginary battles against an establishment of which they are part. Fighting diversity, inclusion, equality. Anyone who looks and thinks differently to them".

The relevant political cleavage is not policy, it is constitutional order. We can fight bitterly over every policy once we agree that the rules must endure in order to protect the republic

the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president

I linked DOGE staffer Marko Elez to a deleted X account that advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act, backed a “eugenic immigration policy,” and wrote, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity." He just resigned. www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...

Amherst church well versed in social science literature.

Amherst College

Musk takes control of government communications.

#SouthAsiaSky scroll.in/latest/10783...

Very proud to have contributed with @larboe.bsky.social @pspolisci.bsky.social symposium about populism and democracy. We focus on the impact of populist parties when in opposition, because most research concentrates on these parties in power www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Delhi air far worse than a city literally on fire...

Death of a far-right patriarch: my piece on how Jean-Marie Le Pen Reminded Us What the Far Right Looks Like When It Is Not Wearing a Mask thewire.in/world/jean-m...

Surprise!

This Haaretz piece of IDF soldiers’ confessions of human rights violations absolutely wrecked me www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024...

Happy Christmas season.

I write on the 'One Nation, One Election' amendment that was presented in Parliament: m.economictimes.com/opinion/et-c...

Just saw the Cash & Carry store in Paris where, as a student in 2001, I used to buy frozen parathas and copies of Outlook magazine...

The great Indian political economy drama in six acts www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/t...

First snow

Good point

My policy on generative AI for next quarter's class:

Liberal responses to the pardoning of Hunter Biden are good reminders that partisan interpretations of liberal democracy are not exclusive to the (far) right.

I will simply ignore every article about Trump administration (or far right in general) that describes any of the main characters as: firebrand heterodox libertarian maverick provocateur

Excellent short piece about "anti-woke publics" in an overall excellent Political Communication symposium on various aspects of far-right politics. 👍