South Asian Politics (Section 55)
The purpose of this section is to facilitate and promote research in the subfield of South Asian politics—the domestic and international politics of the area covered by the current states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar and the Maldives.
1. Facilitating panels exploring topics related to South Asian politics
2. Recognizing quality scholarship in the South Asian politics with awards
3. Providing mentorship for younger scholars working on South Asian politics particularly those from non-US institutions, and helping them to present their work before an international audience.
Founded: 2023
Section Membership Dues
| Student/TIM | Regular |
|---|---|
| $0 | $20 |
Section Officers
Donate to Section 55
Section Officers
Section Awards
Section awards are presented during the APSA annual meeting awards ceremony. South Asian Politics does not currently have any section awards.
All section 55. South Asian Politics award to date
Rajni Kothari Award
This award is for the best article on the politics of South Asia published in the past two years. Deadline: March 15, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Sumitra Badrinathan | American University | sumitrab@american.edu |
| Simon Chauchard | University Carlos III (Madrid) | simon.chauchard@uc3m.es |
| Niloufer Siddiqui | SUNY Albany | nasiddiqui@albany.edu |
Francine Frankel Award
This award is for the best book on the politics of South Asia published in the previous two years. Deadline: March 15, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | Address | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Auerbach | Yale University | adam.auerbach@yale.edu | Dept. of Political Science Yale University 115 Prospect St #208301 New Haven, CT 06520-8301 |
| Tariq Thachil | University of Pennsylvania | thachil@sas.upenn.edu | |
| Sandipto Dasgupta | The New School for Social Research | dasguptas@newschool.edu | 500 W 150t Street Apt. 4C New York, NY 10031. |
2026 Best Graduate Student Conference Paper Award
The Best Graduate Student Conference Paper Award will be given annually to a conference paper studying any aspect of South Asian politics presented by a Ph.D. student in political science at an academic conference in the year 2025. The conference can be affiliated with any of the US-based political science associations or the International Studies Association, as long as the paper was written by a student or students enrolled in a graduate program in political science and presented in 2025. Papers written with faculty will not be considered. Papers presented at poster sessions are also welcome. Deadline: March 15, 2026
Award Committee
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Papia Sengupta | Jawaharlal Nehru University | papiasg@jnu.ac.in |
| Komal Preet Kaur | Princeton University | kk0014@princeton.edu |
| Hanif Sajid | Catawba College | hsajid@catawba.edu |