In India, the world’s largest democracy, as many as a third of elected politicians are under criminal indictment. Carnegie Senior Fellow Milan Vaishnav discusses his groundbreaking new book, When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics, which 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 discusses his findings on the inner-workings of democracy’s underbelly, and how his work might illuminate the current U.S. political climate.
In this episode of The World Unpacked, Isaac Kardon speaks with Alexander (Sasha) Gabuev about growing Russia–China cooperation in the Arctic. They explore the region’s rising strategic importance, its overlooked role in great power competition, and what it means for U.S. policy and allies.
Subsea cables power the internet—but remain a blind spot in global policy. Jane Munga and Sophia Besch join Isaac Kardon to explore their geopolitical, economic, and security implications.
Isaac Kardon sits down with Dr. Meg Rithmire to explore the Chinese Communist Party’s complex relationship with capitalism. Rithmire explains how markets have become useful tools of governance, and meanwhile have generated instability that party-state leadership abhors, seeking political control over private entrepreneurs.
Isaac Kardon sits down with Ankit Panda to explore today’s new nuclear age—and what it will take to manage the growing risks of confrontation and escalation.
Isaac Kardon sits down with Sheena Chestnut Greitens to explore how China is reshaping the landscape of international security cooperation.