Book Launch: When Crime Pays

Wed. February 8th, 2017
New Delhi

Location: Alliance Française, 72, KK Birla Lane, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003
Time: 6:00 p.m.

In democracies stretching from Brazil to Nigeria, criminals routinely thrive at the ballot box. In India, the world’s largest democracy, as many as a third of elected politicians are under criminal indictment. The nexus between crime and politics raises complex questions: How can free and fair elections coexist with rampant criminality? Why do political parties actively recruit candidates with reputations for wrongdoing? And why do voters elect—and often reelect—them?

In a groundbreaking book, When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics, Milan Vaishnav takes readers deep into the marketplace for criminal politicians. Drawing on fieldwork from the campaign trail, large surveys, and unprecedented data on politicians’ criminal records, Vaishnav will discuss his findings on the inner-workings of democracy’s underbelly. Yogendra Yadav will join the conversation, and Anubha Bhonsle will moderate. A cocktail reception will follow.

Anubha Bhonsle

Anubha Bhonsle is CNN-News18’s executive editor.

Milan Vaishnav

Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his primary research focus is the political economy of India.

Yogendra Yadav

Yogendra Yadav is one of India’s foremost political scientists and national president of Swaraj India.

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Milan Vaishnav

Director and Senior Fellow, South Asia Program

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.

Yogendra Yadav

Anubha Bhonsle