experts
Milan Vaishnav
Director and Senior Fellow, South Asia Program

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 SurveyGovernanceIndia ReviewJournal 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.

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
2024 Election to Watch: India

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

All work from Milan Vaishnav

filters
412 Results
podcast
The Truth About the "Foreign Hand" in India

Paul McGarr joins Milan Vaishnav to discuss the history of foreign intelligence operations in India and their domestic implications, drawing on McGarr's new book, Spying in South Asia: Britain, the United States, and India’s Secret Cold War.

· November 26, 2024
In The Media
in the media
Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani Indicted in Bribery Scheme Involving Solar Power

Looking at the case against multi-millionaire Gautam Adani who along with several other executives, faces allegations that he attempted to bribe Indian officials to secure solar power contracts.

· November 23, 2024
NPR
podcast
The Past, Present, and Future of India’s Near East

Author Avinash Paliwal joins Milan Vaishnav to discuss his new book, "India's Near East: A New History," a unique history of New Delhi's relations with its neighbors Bangladesh and Myanmar.

· November 19, 2024
podcast
The U.S. Election, India, and Indian Americans

Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan join Milan Vaishnav to unpack the results of the U.S. election and what a second Trump presidency will mean for U.S.-India relations.

· November 12, 2024
In The Media
in the media
With Trump, It’s Back to the Future for the U.S.

America’s presidential elections are over, but the existential challenges for its democracy and governance have just begun.

· November 6, 2024
Hindustan Times
podcast
The Indian American Vote in 2024

As the 2024 election cycle closes out, Milan Vaishnav welcomes Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur to explore how Indian Americans might vote, using findings from the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey.

· November 5, 2024
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