Amit Ahuja
Biographic Data
| ID | 794812 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Amit Ahuja |
| GIVEN NAMES | Amit |
| FAMILY NAME | Ahuja |
| SIGNATURE | AHUJA A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1818-8721 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 40 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Subaltern Mobilization in the Global South
Democracy offers subaltern groups tools to reduce inequalities by asserting political equality, but these groups must sustain political mobilization to achieve real gains. In the Global South, subaltern groups confront three key obstacles: ( a ) threats of violence and intimidation, ( b ) the challenge of recovering suppressed histories and forging collective identity, and ( c ) severe organizational deficits. Contrary to expectations, democracy …
Bridging the gap or widening the divide? Exploring the dual role of social capital in healthcare financing in rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Preventive repression
States view protests as disruptive and police them. Scholarship points to selective policing of protests that endanger law and order as well as those organized by minority groups. A common form of protest policing in cities is requiring protestors to obtain permits in advance. We use interviews with protestors and the police in New Delhi to examine their perception of protest policing. We test these perceptions empirically using an original datas…
Does social capital increase healthcare financing's projection? Results from the rural household of Uttar Pradesh, India
In the absence of adequate social security, out-of-pocket health expenditure compels households to adopt coping strategies, such as utilizing savings, selling assets, or acquiring external financial support (EFS) by borrowing with interest. Households' probability of acquiring EFS and its amount (intensity) depends on its social capital - the nature of social relationships and resources embedded within social networks. This study examines the eff…
Anticorruption Politics versus Democratic Deepening and Welfare in India
Eliminating corruption is seen as a practice that supports democratic governance. We argue, however, that particular anticorruption politics in contemporary India can damage the project of democratic deepening, because elites often deploy these politics against the representation of the marginalized. Anticorruption politics can subvert democratic deepening by challenging as corrupt the means by which the parties of the marginalized mobilize resou…
Social capital and utilization of immunization service
The National Health Policy (2017) of India advocates Universal Health Coverage through inclusive growth, decentralization, and rebuilding a cohesive community through a participatory process. To achieve this goal, understanding social organization, and community relationships - defined as social capital - is critical. This study aimed to explore the influence of individual and community-level social capital on a critical health system performance…
India’s geoeconomic strategy
Many observers recognize policy continuity as a prominent feature of India’s statecraft, but practitioners see fundamental changes in the last quarter century. In this article, we explain how India’s economic expansion because of sustained economic growth altered its statecraft. That prosperity is a prerequisite to sustain power has been well recognized through history by major thinkers of strategy. We examine the relationship between India’s eco…
From quiescent bureaucracy to “undocumented wonder
Public institutions in the developing world are often characterized by institutional capture or decay. Yet, India's Election Commission (EC) has become one of its most powerful regulatory bodies. We use a process‐tracing approach to explain the EC's surprising expansion of mandate, arguing that in a federal democracy: (a) when institutional constraints are weakened, (b) when state‐based actors demand a competent and neutral arbiter, and (c) when …
Crossing Caste Boundaries in the Modern Indian Marriage Market
Is Only Fair Lovely in Indian Politics? Consequences of Skin Color in a Survey Experiment in Delhi
Adoration for fair skin color and bias against dark skin color are strong in Indian society. The theory of colorism suggests that, irrespective of a voter's own phenotype, voters prefer lighter- to darker-skinned candidates. And yet, a substantial number of dark-skinned politicians get elected into office in India. In the first systematic study of voter preferences for candidate skin color in India, we conducted a survey experiment in which respo…
Religion in the Military Worldwide
How does religion affect the lives of professional soldiers? How does religion shape militaries, their organization, procedures, and performance? This volume is the first to address these questions by comparing religious symbols and practices in nine countries: Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Israel, Iran, India, the United States, and Turkey. The contributors explore how and why soldiers pray, the role of religious rituals prior to …
Why the Poor Vote in India
Why the Poor Vote in India
Crossing Caste Boundaries in the Modern Indian Marriage Market
Is Only Fair Lovely in Indian Politics? Consequences of Skin Color in a Survey Experiment in Delhi
Adoration for fair skin color and bias against dark skin color are strong in Indian society. The theory of colorism suggests that, irrespective of a voter's own phenotype, voters prefer lighter- to darker-skinned candidates. And yet, a substantial number of dark-skinned politicians get elected into office in India. In the first systematic study of voter preferences for candidate skin color in India, we conducted a survey experiment in which respo…
From quiescent bureaucracy to “undocumented wonder
Public institutions in the developing world are often characterized by institutional capture or decay. Yet, India's Election Commission (EC) has become one of its most powerful regulatory bodies. We use a process‐tracing approach to explain the EC's surprising expansion of mandate, arguing that in a federal democracy: (a) when institutional constraints are weakened, (b) when state‐based actors demand a competent and neutral arbiter, and (c) when …
India’s geoeconomic strategy
Many observers recognize policy continuity as a prominent feature of India’s statecraft, but practitioners see fundamental changes in the last quarter century. In this article, we explain how India’s economic expansion because of sustained economic growth altered its statecraft. That prosperity is a prerequisite to sustain power has been well recognized through history by major thinkers of strategy. We examine the relationship between India’s eco…
Anticorruption Politics versus Democratic Deepening and Welfare in India
Eliminating corruption is seen as a practice that supports democratic governance. We argue, however, that particular anticorruption politics in contemporary India can damage the project of democratic deepening, because elites often deploy these politics against the representation of the marginalized. Anticorruption politics can subvert democratic deepening by challenging as corrupt the means by which the parties of the marginalized mobilize resou…
Why the Poor Vote in India
Religion in the Military Worldwide
How does religion affect the lives of professional soldiers? How does religion shape militaries, their organization, procedures, and performance? This volume is the first to address these questions by comparing religious symbols and practices in nine countries: Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Israel, Iran, India, the United States, and Turkey. The contributors explore how and why soldiers pray, the role of religious rituals prior to …
Crossing Caste Boundaries in the Modern Indian Marriage Market
Is Only Fair Lovely in Indian Politics? Consequences of Skin Color in a Survey Experiment in Delhi
Adoration for fair skin color and bias against dark skin color are strong in Indian society. The theory of colorism suggests that, irrespective of a voter's own phenotype, voters prefer lighter- to darker-skinned candidates. And yet, a substantial number of dark-skinned politicians get elected into office in India. In the first systematic study of voter preferences for candidate skin color in India, we conducted a survey experiment in which respo…
India’s geoeconomic strategy
Many observers recognize policy continuity as a prominent feature of India’s statecraft, but practitioners see fundamental changes in the last quarter century. In this article, we explain how India’s economic expansion because of sustained economic growth altered its statecraft. That prosperity is a prerequisite to sustain power has been well recognized through history by major thinkers of strategy. We examine the relationship between India’s eco…
From quiescent bureaucracy to “undocumented wonder
Public institutions in the developing world are often characterized by institutional capture or decay. Yet, India's Election Commission (EC) has become one of its most powerful regulatory bodies. We use a process‐tracing approach to explain the EC's surprising expansion of mandate, arguing that in a federal democracy: (a) when institutional constraints are weakened, (b) when state‐based actors demand a competent and neutral arbiter, and (c) when …
Social capital and utilization of immunization service
The National Health Policy (2017) of India advocates Universal Health Coverage through inclusive growth, decentralization, and rebuilding a cohesive community through a participatory process. To achieve this goal, understanding social organization, and community relationships - defined as social capital - is critical. This study aimed to explore the influence of individual and community-level social capital on a critical health system performance…
Does social capital increase healthcare financing's projection? Results from the rural household of Uttar Pradesh, India
In the absence of adequate social security, out-of-pocket health expenditure compels households to adopt coping strategies, such as utilizing savings, selling assets, or acquiring external financial support (EFS) by borrowing with interest. Households' probability of acquiring EFS and its amount (intensity) depends on its social capital - the nature of social relationships and resources embedded within social networks. This study examines the eff…
Anticorruption Politics versus Democratic Deepening and Welfare in India
Eliminating corruption is seen as a practice that supports democratic governance. We argue, however, that particular anticorruption politics in contemporary India can damage the project of democratic deepening, because elites often deploy these politics against the representation of the marginalized. Anticorruption politics can subvert democratic deepening by challenging as corrupt the means by which the parties of the marginalized mobilize resou…
Preventive repression
States view protests as disruptive and police them. Scholarship points to selective policing of protests that endanger law and order as well as those organized by minority groups. A common form of protest policing in cities is requiring protestors to obtain permits in advance. We use interviews with protestors and the police in New Delhi to examine their perception of protest policing. We test these perceptions empirically using an original datas…
Bridging the gap or widening the divide? Exploring the dual role of social capital in healthcare financing in rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Subaltern Mobilization in the Global South
Democracy offers subaltern groups tools to reduce inequalities by asserting political equality, but these groups must sustain political mobilization to achieve real gains. In the Global South, subaltern groups confront three key obstacles: ( a ) threats of violence and intimidation, ( b ) the challenge of recovering suppressed histories and forging collective identity, and ( c ) severe organizational deficits. Contrary to expectations, democracy …
Political science (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Economics (7 works) · Politics (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Democracy (4 works) · Business (3 works) · Demographic economics (3 works)