Vasabjit Banerjee
Biographic Data
| ID | 95400 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Vasabjit Banerjee |
| GIVEN NAMES | Vasabjit |
| FAMILY NAME | Banerjee |
| SIGNATURE | BANERJEE V |
| AFFILIATIONS | Mississippi State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9446-9621 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 19 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
India and Taiwan’s evolving entente commerciale: Trade and informal defense cooperation between Taiwan-India
We argue that India and Taiwan have developed preconditions favourable for the development of an entente relationship. Ententes necessitate a common threat from a state, economic integration, and a security relationship between the states. China serves as the mutual antagonist, and the countries established cooperative informal diplomatic frameworks to facilitate economic cross-investment. We utilise the states’ cell phone production cooperation …
Strategic competition and industrial weakness: Why India lost its way on defense manufacturing
How do states develop domestic arms production capacity when facing a strategic competitor? Theories of arms races and regime finance assume states can manufacture military means, but India complicates this assumption. Despite hosting one of the world’s largest arms industries—largely composed of state-owned enterprises—India remains a top global arms importer. We propose an ends, ways, and means approach used in military strategy—of which defens…
Accountability, Bureaucratic Discretion, and Civil-Military Relations
All democracies wrestle with the problem of representation. Most people intuitively understand this through electoral politics, but this connection is less clear when we consider bureaucracy. And when it comes to civil-military relations, many think about this problem in terms of “civilian control.” We present a different approach and contribute to this literature in three ways. First, we critique assumptions often used in thinking about civilian…
Policing the police: Why it is so hard to reform police departments in the United States
Why has it been so difficult to reform U.S. policing? We provide a theoretical argument that understanding of the entrenched militarisation and accountability problems of U.S. police departments would benefit from using theory in comparative research on civil–military relations. American police forces undermine local democracy by encroaching upon the decision-making powers of city officials in ways that resemble militaries in fragile democracies.…
Civil-Military Relations: Through a Perilous Lens
Since Huntington's seminal work The Soldier and the State, the scholarship on civil-military relations in the American context has often emphasized the need for a professional military to maintain an apolitical stance and let the civilian principals lead. In this article, we ask, what can we learn about civil-military relations by seeking to better understand the relationship between political institutions and the politicization of the military? …
The Client’s Principles: Explaining Israel and Taiwan’s Defense Ties with Central America
Although foreign policy between great power patrons and their client states is often studied, those of client states and third states within the context of patron-client relations receive little attention. We address this gap through a comparative historical analysis of Israel and Taiwan’s defense ties with Central American states from the 1970s until 2019. We argue that clients’ initially make decisions based on the preferences of their patrons,…
How Has the War in Ukraine Shaped Taiwanese Concerns about Their Own Defense
How does Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affect Taiwanese perceptions about their own defense? Despite frequent comparisons of the war in Ukraine with a potential invasion of Taiwan, existing analyses do not directly measure Taiwanese public perceptions of a linkage. Using survey data from the Taiwan Institute for Governance and Communication Research, we identify not only the extent of concern about the war but also how this corresponds to worries …
Maintaining Dominance: Explaining the Rise of Late-Entering Insurgent Groups in El Salvador and Guatemala
Although there exists substantial political science research on insurgent group fragmentation, this process remains ignored in the decades long civil wars of El Salvador and Guatemala. A comparative analysis of insurgencies in El Salvador (1979–1983) and Guatemala (1962–1969 and 1979–1983) investigates whether late insurgent groups arise from opportunities created by early groups’ ability to: (a) present attractive ideologies; (b) establish cohes…
The Association of Electoral Volatility and Religious Riots in India
Why are religious riots between Hindus and Muslims endemic in some states of India and not in others? Scholarship on the topic is divided between those arguing that electoral competition increases the occurrence of such riots and those arguing that electoral competition decreases the occurrence of such riots. Both types of explanations assume a relationship between political parties and religious violence, but they ignore voting behavior. This pa…
Checking trust: Observing Social Capital at the Individual Level
Social capital research has measured the concept in two distinct ways: through direct reporting by participants in cross-national surveys and the presence of associative organisations. Both strategies raise difficulties: the former restricts comparability and assumes group stability; the latter relies on literal translation and uses direct questioning. We problematise these approaches and argue that the ratio of 'check-points' where individuals a…
When the choice is made matters: Voting in Japan’s 2012 House of Representatives election
What influences the timing of vote choices in mixed-member systems and to what extent does this influence split-ticketing voting? Although voters cast both ballots in effect simultaneously, they may make their decisions on which candidate and party to support sequentially. Using Japan’s 2012 election as a case study, empirical analyses find that the district nominations influence the timing of one’s district vote intention. Meanwhile the timing o…
Inequality and Elections: The Nationwide Origins and State-Level Dynamics of India's Maoist Insurgency
This article investigates the causes of India's Maoist insurgency and its changing dynamics. To explain its origins, we empirically test three hypotheses using cross-state-level data: inequality of wealth in states; inefficient state government; and, disgruntled provocateurs. Our analysis reveals that insurgency is caused by inequality of wealth in states, not inefficient state governments and disgruntled provocateurs. Subsequently, we study vari…
Lesotho's 2015 Legislative Election: Providing or Undermining Stability
Political unrest in 2014 threatened Lesotho's newly found democratic stability. Observers focus on educating the public about the electoral system and encouraging pre-election coalition discussions. However, this analysis suggests that such remedies ignore the institutional influences of Lesotho's electoral system that undermine both public understanding and stability. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of district competition finds the 2015 ele…
District Competition in Japan’s 2014 Election: The Roles of Nominations, Incumbency, and Dual Listing
Duverger’s Law expects two-party competition in single member districts (SMDs), but evidence from mixed member systems is less consistent with these theoretical expectations. Rather than simply focusing on whether Japan’s most recent House of Representatives election converges toward Duvergerian equilibrium, this article focuses on three factors within Japan. In particular, how do the roles of major party nominations, incumbency, and dual-listing…
Running Out of Time? The Evolution of Taiwan's Relations in Africa
This article highlights the precarious nature of Taiwan's diplomatic relations in Africa. Whereas Cold War rationales initially benefitted Taiwan, economic interests now appear to incentivize African countries to establish relations with China. Through qualitative and quantitative data covering much of the post-World War II era, this analysis argues that economic factors have trumped political rationales for Taiwanese–African relations. In additi…
The religious origins of class coalitions: Elite participation in religiously motivated peasant rebellions in Mexico, Zimbabwe, and India
This article explains why elite classes participate in religiously motivated peasant rebellions. This question is important because, although elite resources are required to overcome collective action barriers, extant research ignores why elites collaborate in religiously motivated peasant rebellions. The article compares the Moplah Rebellion in colonial India, the Cristero Rebellion in revolutionary Mexico, and the Chimurenga Rebellion in white-…
Party Organizations in Multiethnic and Homogenous Societies: Comparing India and Japan
How do party organizations respond to newly evolving social groups? Research on Indian party organizations reveals that in multiethnic societies with uneven modernization between social groups, internally competitive parties respond better to newly evolving groups. Moreover, it is claimed: the same dynamic works vis- $\grave{a}$ -vis homogenous societies with cleavages based on economic differences; and, the pattern holds regardless of difference…
Identifying the Institutional Effects of Mixed Systems in New Democracies: The Case of Lesotho
This paper addresses the effects of the mixed system used for the last three elections in Lesotho (2002, 2007 and 2012), a small African country with a turbulent history regarding opposition acceptance of elections. The decision to implement a mixed system was in part to encourage democratic stability, yet whether the electoral system has become more conducive to democratic competition is unclear. Through an analysis of national and district-leve…
Civil-Military Relations: Through a Perilous Lens
Since Huntington's seminal work The Soldier and the State, the scholarship on civil-military relations in the American context has often emphasized the need for a professional military to maintain an apolitical stance and let the civilian principals lead. In this article, we ask, what can we learn about civil-military relations by seeking to better understand the relationship between political institutions and the politicization of the military? …
How Has the War in Ukraine Shaped Taiwanese Concerns about Their Own Defense
How does Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affect Taiwanese perceptions about their own defense? Despite frequent comparisons of the war in Ukraine with a potential invasion of Taiwan, existing analyses do not directly measure Taiwanese public perceptions of a linkage. Using survey data from the Taiwan Institute for Governance and Communication Research, we identify not only the extent of concern about the war but also how this corresponds to worries …
Identifying the Institutional Effects of Mixed Systems in New Democracies: The Case of Lesotho
This paper addresses the effects of the mixed system used for the last three elections in Lesotho (2002, 2007 and 2012), a small African country with a turbulent history regarding opposition acceptance of elections. The decision to implement a mixed system was in part to encourage democratic stability, yet whether the electoral system has become more conducive to democratic competition is unclear. Through an analysis of national and district-leve…
The religious origins of class coalitions: Elite participation in religiously motivated peasant rebellions in Mexico, Zimbabwe, and India
This article explains why elite classes participate in religiously motivated peasant rebellions. This question is important because, although elite resources are required to overcome collective action barriers, extant research ignores why elites collaborate in religiously motivated peasant rebellions. The article compares the Moplah Rebellion in colonial India, the Cristero Rebellion in revolutionary Mexico, and the Chimurenga Rebellion in white-…
Policing the police: Why it is so hard to reform police departments in the United States
Why has it been so difficult to reform U.S. policing? We provide a theoretical argument that understanding of the entrenched militarisation and accountability problems of U.S. police departments would benefit from using theory in comparative research on civil–military relations. American police forces undermine local democracy by encroaching upon the decision-making powers of city officials in ways that resemble militaries in fragile democracies.…
The Association of Electoral Volatility and Religious Riots in India
Why are religious riots between Hindus and Muslims endemic in some states of India and not in others? Scholarship on the topic is divided between those arguing that electoral competition increases the occurrence of such riots and those arguing that electoral competition decreases the occurrence of such riots. Both types of explanations assume a relationship between political parties and religious violence, but they ignore voting behavior. This pa…
Lesotho's 2015 Legislative Election: Providing or Undermining Stability
Political unrest in 2014 threatened Lesotho's newly found democratic stability. Observers focus on educating the public about the electoral system and encouraging pre-election coalition discussions. However, this analysis suggests that such remedies ignore the institutional influences of Lesotho's electoral system that undermine both public understanding and stability. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of district competition finds the 2015 ele…
District Competition in Japan’s 2014 Election: The Roles of Nominations, Incumbency, and Dual Listing
Duverger’s Law expects two-party competition in single member districts (SMDs), but evidence from mixed member systems is less consistent with these theoretical expectations. Rather than simply focusing on whether Japan’s most recent House of Representatives election converges toward Duvergerian equilibrium, this article focuses on three factors within Japan. In particular, how do the roles of major party nominations, incumbency, and dual-listing…
Running Out of Time? The Evolution of Taiwan's Relations in Africa
This article highlights the precarious nature of Taiwan's diplomatic relations in Africa. Whereas Cold War rationales initially benefitted Taiwan, economic interests now appear to incentivize African countries to establish relations with China. Through qualitative and quantitative data covering much of the post-World War II era, this analysis argues that economic factors have trumped political rationales for Taiwanese–African relations. In additi…
Party Organizations in Multiethnic and Homogenous Societies: Comparing India and Japan
How do party organizations respond to newly evolving social groups? Research on Indian party organizations reveals that in multiethnic societies with uneven modernization between social groups, internally competitive parties respond better to newly evolving groups. Moreover, it is claimed: the same dynamic works vis- $\grave{a}$ -vis homogenous societies with cleavages based on economic differences; and, the pattern holds regardless of difference…
Identifying the Institutional Effects of Mixed Systems in New Democracies: The Case of Lesotho
This paper addresses the effects of the mixed system used for the last three elections in Lesotho (2002, 2007 and 2012), a small African country with a turbulent history regarding opposition acceptance of elections. The decision to implement a mixed system was in part to encourage democratic stability, yet whether the electoral system has become more conducive to democratic competition is unclear. Through an analysis of national and district-leve…
Running Out of Time? The Evolution of Taiwan's Relations in Africa
This article highlights the precarious nature of Taiwan's diplomatic relations in Africa. Whereas Cold War rationales initially benefitted Taiwan, economic interests now appear to incentivize African countries to establish relations with China. Through qualitative and quantitative data covering much of the post-World War II era, this analysis argues that economic factors have trumped political rationales for Taiwanese–African relations. In additi…
The religious origins of class coalitions: Elite participation in religiously motivated peasant rebellions in Mexico, Zimbabwe, and India
This article explains why elite classes participate in religiously motivated peasant rebellions. This question is important because, although elite resources are required to overcome collective action barriers, extant research ignores why elites collaborate in religiously motivated peasant rebellions. The article compares the Moplah Rebellion in colonial India, the Cristero Rebellion in revolutionary Mexico, and the Chimurenga Rebellion in white-…
District Competition in Japan’s 2014 Election: The Roles of Nominations, Incumbency, and Dual Listing
Duverger’s Law expects two-party competition in single member districts (SMDs), but evidence from mixed member systems is less consistent with these theoretical expectations. Rather than simply focusing on whether Japan’s most recent House of Representatives election converges toward Duvergerian equilibrium, this article focuses on three factors within Japan. In particular, how do the roles of major party nominations, incumbency, and dual-listing…
Inequality and Elections: The Nationwide Origins and State-Level Dynamics of India's Maoist Insurgency
This article investigates the causes of India's Maoist insurgency and its changing dynamics. To explain its origins, we empirically test three hypotheses using cross-state-level data: inequality of wealth in states; inefficient state government; and, disgruntled provocateurs. Our analysis reveals that insurgency is caused by inequality of wealth in states, not inefficient state governments and disgruntled provocateurs. Subsequently, we study vari…
Lesotho's 2015 Legislative Election: Providing or Undermining Stability
Political unrest in 2014 threatened Lesotho's newly found democratic stability. Observers focus on educating the public about the electoral system and encouraging pre-election coalition discussions. However, this analysis suggests that such remedies ignore the institutional influences of Lesotho's electoral system that undermine both public understanding and stability. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of district competition finds the 2015 ele…
When the choice is made matters: Voting in Japan’s 2012 House of Representatives election
What influences the timing of vote choices in mixed-member systems and to what extent does this influence split-ticketing voting? Although voters cast both ballots in effect simultaneously, they may make their decisions on which candidate and party to support sequentially. Using Japan’s 2012 election as a case study, empirical analyses find that the district nominations influence the timing of one’s district vote intention. Meanwhile the timing o…
Checking trust: Observing Social Capital at the Individual Level
Social capital research has measured the concept in two distinct ways: through direct reporting by participants in cross-national surveys and the presence of associative organisations. Both strategies raise difficulties: the former restricts comparability and assumes group stability; the latter relies on literal translation and uses direct questioning. We problematise these approaches and argue that the ratio of 'check-points' where individuals a…
The Association of Electoral Volatility and Religious Riots in India
Why are religious riots between Hindus and Muslims endemic in some states of India and not in others? Scholarship on the topic is divided between those arguing that electoral competition increases the occurrence of such riots and those arguing that electoral competition decreases the occurrence of such riots. Both types of explanations assume a relationship between political parties and religious violence, but they ignore voting behavior. This pa…
Maintaining Dominance: Explaining the Rise of Late-Entering Insurgent Groups in El Salvador and Guatemala
Although there exists substantial political science research on insurgent group fragmentation, this process remains ignored in the decades long civil wars of El Salvador and Guatemala. A comparative analysis of insurgencies in El Salvador (1979–1983) and Guatemala (1962–1969 and 1979–1983) investigates whether late insurgent groups arise from opportunities created by early groups’ ability to: (a) present attractive ideologies; (b) establish cohes…
The Client’s Principles: Explaining Israel and Taiwan’s Defense Ties with Central America
Although foreign policy between great power patrons and their client states is often studied, those of client states and third states within the context of patron-client relations receive little attention. We address this gap through a comparative historical analysis of Israel and Taiwan’s defense ties with Central American states from the 1970s until 2019. We argue that clients’ initially make decisions based on the preferences of their patrons,…
How Has the War in Ukraine Shaped Taiwanese Concerns about Their Own Defense
How does Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affect Taiwanese perceptions about their own defense? Despite frequent comparisons of the war in Ukraine with a potential invasion of Taiwan, existing analyses do not directly measure Taiwanese public perceptions of a linkage. Using survey data from the Taiwan Institute for Governance and Communication Research, we identify not only the extent of concern about the war but also how this corresponds to worries …
Policing the police: Why it is so hard to reform police departments in the United States
Why has it been so difficult to reform U.S. policing? We provide a theoretical argument that understanding of the entrenched militarisation and accountability problems of U.S. police departments would benefit from using theory in comparative research on civil–military relations. American police forces undermine local democracy by encroaching upon the decision-making powers of city officials in ways that resemble militaries in fragile democracies.…
Civil-Military Relations: Through a Perilous Lens
Since Huntington's seminal work The Soldier and the State, the scholarship on civil-military relations in the American context has often emphasized the need for a professional military to maintain an apolitical stance and let the civilian principals lead. In this article, we ask, what can we learn about civil-military relations by seeking to better understand the relationship between political institutions and the politicization of the military? …
Accountability, Bureaucratic Discretion, and Civil-Military Relations
All democracies wrestle with the problem of representation. Most people intuitively understand this through electoral politics, but this connection is less clear when we consider bureaucracy. And when it comes to civil-military relations, many think about this problem in terms of “civilian control.” We present a different approach and contribute to this literature in three ways. First, we critique assumptions often used in thinking about civilian…
India and Taiwan’s evolving entente commerciale: Trade and informal defense cooperation between Taiwan-India
We argue that India and Taiwan have developed preconditions favourable for the development of an entente relationship. Ententes necessitate a common threat from a state, economic integration, and a security relationship between the states. China serves as the mutual antagonist, and the countries established cooperative informal diplomatic frameworks to facilitate economic cross-investment. We utilise the states’ cell phone production cooperation …
Strategic competition and industrial weakness: Why India lost its way on defense manufacturing
How do states develop domestic arms production capacity when facing a strategic competitor? Theories of arms races and regime finance assume states can manufacture military means, but India complicates this assumption. Despite hosting one of the world’s largest arms industries—largely composed of state-owned enterprises—India remains a top global arms importer. We propose an ends, ways, and means approach used in military strategy—of which defens…
Political science (16 works) · Law (14 works) · Law (14 works) · Politics (14 works) · Economics (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Political economy (9 works) · Development economics (7 works) · Democracy (6 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (6 works)