I am an associate in the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. I was also the 2011-2012 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC, where I helped direct the Center’s initiative on U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan.
My primary research focuses on the political economy of India, examining issues such as corruption, ethnic politics, governance and state capacity, election finance, and distributive politics. One of my ongoing major projects examines the causes and consequences of political corruption in India, with an emphasis on representation and quality of political leadership; connections between the state and private capital; and the management and exploitation of natural resources. I also work on development policy and issues of governance in developing countries and its relation to democratic accountability.
I am co-editor of the book, Short of the Goal: U.S. Policy and Poorly Performing States (Center for Global Development, 2006).
I hold a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A., M.Phil and Ph.D in Political Science from Columbia University. I have taught at Columbia, Georgetown, and George Washington universities. Prior to graduate school, I worked at the Center for Global Development, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Council on Foreign Relations.
I can be reached at mvaishnav [at] ceip.org. You can also follow me on Twitter @MilanV
