Subhasish Ray
Biographic Data
| ID | 3717475 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Subhasish Ray |
| GIVEN NAMES | Subhasish |
| FAMILY NAME | Ray |
| SIGNATURE | RAY S |
| AFFILIATIONS | National University of Singapore |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1990-6403 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 40 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Types of pandemic-induced psychological distress, clarity of responsibility, and support for incumbents
Will voters punish incumbents for psychological distress associated with public policy during external shocks? This study examines this question in the empirical context of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, utilizing three novel cross-sectional surveys conducted in the first three weeks of June 2020, immediately after the national lockdown policy was officially revoked. We find that propensity to vote for the nationally incumbent …
Covid‐19, Employment Disruptions, and the Gendering of Mental Health: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey During the First Wave of the Pandemic in India
Objective We examine the effect of changes in the work status of men on the gendering of mental health in the empirical context of the strict national lockdown imposed in late March 2020 amidst the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic in India. Methods We utilize a novel nationally representative cross‐sectional survey conducted in the second week of June 2020, after the national lockdown was officially revoked. Result We report three main finding…
The Electoral Legacies of Civil War Violence: Theory and Evidence from a Maoist-affected State in India
Political campaigning in West Bengal: Violence, professionalisation, and communalisation
This study examines the evolving dynamics of political campaigning in the state of West Bengal in eastern India. West Bengal offers an ideal case to trace the rise of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India and the implications of this development for political campaigning since, until recently, the political culture of the state, profoundly shaped by 34 years of continuous Left rule from 1977 to 2011, had, at least institutio…
Voting for security: Evidence from a Maoist-affected region in India
Do perceptions of insecurity from politically motivated violence affect the decision of poor voters to re-elect incumbents in Indian elections? This article examines this question in the empirical context of the Maoist-affected Junglemahal region in the state of West Bengal in eastern India. Exploiting original survey data collected in 38 Maoist-affected villages in Junglemahal prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, I show that respondents (a) wer…
Party system change and internal security: Evidence from India, 2005-2021
Has the consolidation of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the dominant party at the national level since the 2014 Lok Sabha election affected internal security outcomes in India? This question assumes particular significance because of the primacy accorded to the use of force in the BJP’s counter-insurgency (COIN) strategy. Using sub-national data on insurgency-related fatalities from 2005–2021, I examine whether states where…
Economic voting in multi-level contexts: Evidence from Kerala and West Bengal in India
Bureaucracy unbound? The end of dominant party rule and the politics-administration interface in West Bengal
The end of dominant party rule is a fraught moment for political-bureaucratic relations in developing countries, with critical implications for public service delivery. This article examines political change in the state of West Bengal in eastern India, where a coalition of left-wing parties was deposed from power in 2011 by a populist opposition after 34 years of uninterrupted rule. The “change” party in West Bengal has not only avoided bureaucr…
History and Ethnic Conflict: Does Precolonial Centralization Matter
How does the trajectory of precolonial political institutions affect contemporary ethnic conflict? I argue that ethnic groups that were governed by centralized political institutions in the precolonial period are more likely to be associated with armed conflict in the present, but that colonial state-building strategies mediate this relationship. Ethnic groups that experienced precolonial centralization were likely to be underrecruited to the top…
Beyond Divide and Rule: Explaining the Link between British Colonialism and Ethnic Violence
Existing cross-national research on inter-communal violence has demonstrated that ex-British colonies are more prone to inter-communal violence than ex-colonies of other European powers. This finding has been attributed to the greater prevalence of divide-and-rule policies in ex-British colonies. This explanation is, however, incomplete since it implicitly assumes that British imperial policy profoundly transformed pre-colonial political realitie…
Ethnic Inequality and National Pride
This article examines patterns in individual attachments towards the nation‐state in multiethnic countries. Specifically, we examine the effect of between‐ethnic‐group political and economic inequality on these attachments. Pairing attitudinal data from the sixth and most recent wave of the World Values Survey, administered between 2010 and 2012, with ethnicity measures from the Ethnic Power Relations dataset, we show that between‐ethnic‐group po…
Intra-group interactions and inter-group violence: Sikh mobilization during the partition of India in a comparative perspective
Theories of ethnic conflict posit ethnic mobilization by elites as a necessary condition for ethnic war. What is less well understood is why ethnic mobilization succeeds in some instances, but not in others. This article examines this question using a case that is yet to be systematically explored from this perspective: Sikh mobilization during the partition of British India in 1947. During the period February–July 1947, there were two clear inst…
Sooner or later: The timing of ethnic conflict onsets after independence
A well-known finding in the literature on ethnic conflict is that new states are more prone to ethnic conflict than old states. What are less well known, however, are the mechanisms through which independence leads to ethnic conflict. This lacuna is surprising since the literature offers different mechanisms to explain the result, each pointing to very distinct policy responses. This article examines these mechanisms by analyzing variations in th…
The Nonmartial Origins of the 'Martial Races: Ethnicity and Military Service in Ex-British Colonies
Did colonial rule 'construct' the 'martial races' or do these groups have an innate cultural disposition toward military service? Despite the centrality of this question for evaluating different military manpower recruitment strategies in postcolonial settings, no study has subjected these hypotheses to systematic empirical testing. This article fills this gap using an original data set on the colonial status of 181 ethnic groups across twenty-ni…
Ethnic Inequality and National Pride
This article examines patterns in individual attachments towards the nation‐state in multiethnic countries. Specifically, we examine the effect of between‐ethnic‐group political and economic inequality on these attachments. Pairing attitudinal data from the sixth and most recent wave of the World Values Survey, administered between 2010 and 2012, with ethnicity measures from the Ethnic Power Relations dataset, we show that between‐ethnic‐group po…
History and Ethnic Conflict: Does Precolonial Centralization Matter
How does the trajectory of precolonial political institutions affect contemporary ethnic conflict? I argue that ethnic groups that were governed by centralized political institutions in the precolonial period are more likely to be associated with armed conflict in the present, but that colonial state-building strategies mediate this relationship. Ethnic groups that experienced precolonial centralization were likely to be underrecruited to the top…
The Nonmartial Origins of the 'Martial Races: Ethnicity and Military Service in Ex-British Colonies
Did colonial rule 'construct' the 'martial races' or do these groups have an innate cultural disposition toward military service? Despite the centrality of this question for evaluating different military manpower recruitment strategies in postcolonial settings, no study has subjected these hypotheses to systematic empirical testing. This article fills this gap using an original data set on the colonial status of 181 ethnic groups across twenty-ni…
Economic voting in multi-level contexts: Evidence from Kerala and West Bengal in India
Beyond Divide and Rule: Explaining the Link between British Colonialism and Ethnic Violence
Existing cross-national research on inter-communal violence has demonstrated that ex-British colonies are more prone to inter-communal violence than ex-colonies of other European powers. This finding has been attributed to the greater prevalence of divide-and-rule policies in ex-British colonies. This explanation is, however, incomplete since it implicitly assumes that British imperial policy profoundly transformed pre-colonial political realitie…
Sooner or later: The timing of ethnic conflict onsets after independence
A well-known finding in the literature on ethnic conflict is that new states are more prone to ethnic conflict than old states. What are less well known, however, are the mechanisms through which independence leads to ethnic conflict. This lacuna is surprising since the literature offers different mechanisms to explain the result, each pointing to very distinct policy responses. This article examines these mechanisms by analyzing variations in th…
Political campaigning in West Bengal: Violence, professionalisation, and communalisation
This study examines the evolving dynamics of political campaigning in the state of West Bengal in eastern India. West Bengal offers an ideal case to trace the rise of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India and the implications of this development for political campaigning since, until recently, the political culture of the state, profoundly shaped by 34 years of continuous Left rule from 1977 to 2011, had, at least institutio…
Voting for security: Evidence from a Maoist-affected region in India
Do perceptions of insecurity from politically motivated violence affect the decision of poor voters to re-elect incumbents in Indian elections? This article examines this question in the empirical context of the Maoist-affected Junglemahal region in the state of West Bengal in eastern India. Exploiting original survey data collected in 38 Maoist-affected villages in Junglemahal prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, I show that respondents (a) wer…
Bureaucracy unbound? The end of dominant party rule and the politics-administration interface in West Bengal
The end of dominant party rule is a fraught moment for political-bureaucratic relations in developing countries, with critical implications for public service delivery. This article examines political change in the state of West Bengal in eastern India, where a coalition of left-wing parties was deposed from power in 2011 by a populist opposition after 34 years of uninterrupted rule. The “change” party in West Bengal has not only avoided bureaucr…
The Nonmartial Origins of the 'Martial Races: Ethnicity and Military Service in Ex-British Colonies
Did colonial rule 'construct' the 'martial races' or do these groups have an innate cultural disposition toward military service? Despite the centrality of this question for evaluating different military manpower recruitment strategies in postcolonial settings, no study has subjected these hypotheses to systematic empirical testing. This article fills this gap using an original data set on the colonial status of 181 ethnic groups across twenty-ni…
Sooner or later: The timing of ethnic conflict onsets after independence
A well-known finding in the literature on ethnic conflict is that new states are more prone to ethnic conflict than old states. What are less well known, however, are the mechanisms through which independence leads to ethnic conflict. This lacuna is surprising since the literature offers different mechanisms to explain the result, each pointing to very distinct policy responses. This article examines these mechanisms by analyzing variations in th…
Intra-group interactions and inter-group violence: Sikh mobilization during the partition of India in a comparative perspective
Theories of ethnic conflict posit ethnic mobilization by elites as a necessary condition for ethnic war. What is less well understood is why ethnic mobilization succeeds in some instances, but not in others. This article examines this question using a case that is yet to be systematically explored from this perspective: Sikh mobilization during the partition of British India in 1947. During the period February–July 1947, there were two clear inst…
Beyond Divide and Rule: Explaining the Link between British Colonialism and Ethnic Violence
Existing cross-national research on inter-communal violence has demonstrated that ex-British colonies are more prone to inter-communal violence than ex-colonies of other European powers. This finding has been attributed to the greater prevalence of divide-and-rule policies in ex-British colonies. This explanation is, however, incomplete since it implicitly assumes that British imperial policy profoundly transformed pre-colonial political realitie…
Ethnic Inequality and National Pride
This article examines patterns in individual attachments towards the nation‐state in multiethnic countries. Specifically, we examine the effect of between‐ethnic‐group political and economic inequality on these attachments. Pairing attitudinal data from the sixth and most recent wave of the World Values Survey, administered between 2010 and 2012, with ethnicity measures from the Ethnic Power Relations dataset, we show that between‐ethnic‐group po…
History and Ethnic Conflict: Does Precolonial Centralization Matter
How does the trajectory of precolonial political institutions affect contemporary ethnic conflict? I argue that ethnic groups that were governed by centralized political institutions in the precolonial period are more likely to be associated with armed conflict in the present, but that colonial state-building strategies mediate this relationship. Ethnic groups that experienced precolonial centralization were likely to be underrecruited to the top…
Bureaucracy unbound? The end of dominant party rule and the politics-administration interface in West Bengal
The end of dominant party rule is a fraught moment for political-bureaucratic relations in developing countries, with critical implications for public service delivery. This article examines political change in the state of West Bengal in eastern India, where a coalition of left-wing parties was deposed from power in 2011 by a populist opposition after 34 years of uninterrupted rule. The “change” party in West Bengal has not only avoided bureaucr…
Economic voting in multi-level contexts: Evidence from Kerala and West Bengal in India
Political campaigning in West Bengal: Violence, professionalisation, and communalisation
This study examines the evolving dynamics of political campaigning in the state of West Bengal in eastern India. West Bengal offers an ideal case to trace the rise of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India and the implications of this development for political campaigning since, until recently, the political culture of the state, profoundly shaped by 34 years of continuous Left rule from 1977 to 2011, had, at least institutio…
Voting for security: Evidence from a Maoist-affected region in India
Do perceptions of insecurity from politically motivated violence affect the decision of poor voters to re-elect incumbents in Indian elections? This article examines this question in the empirical context of the Maoist-affected Junglemahal region in the state of West Bengal in eastern India. Exploiting original survey data collected in 38 Maoist-affected villages in Junglemahal prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, I show that respondents (a) wer…
Party system change and internal security: Evidence from India, 2005-2021
Has the consolidation of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the dominant party at the national level since the 2014 Lok Sabha election affected internal security outcomes in India? This question assumes particular significance because of the primacy accorded to the use of force in the BJP’s counter-insurgency (COIN) strategy. Using sub-national data on insurgency-related fatalities from 2005–2021, I examine whether states where…
The Electoral Legacies of Civil War Violence: Theory and Evidence from a Maoist-affected State in India
Types of pandemic-induced psychological distress, clarity of responsibility, and support for incumbents
Will voters punish incumbents for psychological distress associated with public policy during external shocks? This study examines this question in the empirical context of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, utilizing three novel cross-sectional surveys conducted in the first three weeks of June 2020, immediately after the national lockdown policy was officially revoked. We find that propensity to vote for the nationally incumbent …
Covid‐19, Employment Disruptions, and the Gendering of Mental Health: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey During the First Wave of the Pandemic in India
Objective We examine the effect of changes in the work status of men on the gendering of mental health in the empirical context of the strict national lockdown imposed in late March 2020 amidst the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic in India. Methods We utilize a novel nationally representative cross‐sectional survey conducted in the second week of June 2020, after the national lockdown was officially revoked. Result We report three main finding…
Law (12 works) · Political science (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Politics (11 works) · Political economy (9 works) · Economics (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Ethnic group (6 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (6 works) · Psychology (6 works)