Welcome to my homepage!My name is Soundarya Chidambaram. I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (August 2011 - present).
I received my PhD in Political Science from The Ohio State University in March 2012. I specialize in comparative politics and political economy, with a regional focus on South Asia and India. My research interests include: ethnic politics, politics of welfare and representation, patron-client linkages, civil society, and Hindu nationalism in Indian politics. In addition to my work in Political Science, I also have a Graduate Minor in Statistical Data Analysis from the Department of Statistics, The Ohio State University.
My dissertation titled "Welfare, Patronage, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India's Urban Slums" studies the spatial variation in the success of sectarian Hindu nationalist organizations involved in welfare service provision across Indian states. I study local associational networks and their clintelistic linkages with political parties to explain the variation.
Please click here for my CV.
Irfan Nooruddin (Chair)
Marcus Kurtz