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Christophe Jaffrelot

Professor Christophe Jaffrelot

Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology

Research interests

  • International development
  • Politics

Biography

Christophe Jaffrelot is Avantha Chair and Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at the King's India Institute and also the Research Lead for the Global Institutes, King’s College London. He teaches South Asian politics and history at Sciences Po, Paris and is an Overseas Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was Director of Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI) at Sciences Po, between 2000 and 2008.

Christophe holds a Diploma of Sciences Po (1985), an M.A. in history of the University of Paris I-Sorbonne (1986), an Advanced Study Degree of the EHESS (1986), a Hindi DULCO of “Langues O”, the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (1990) and a Ph.D. in political science from Sciences Po (1991). He joined the CNRS in 1991 and became Director of research in 2002. As a CNRS senior research fellow, he is affiliated to CERI-Sciences Po, where he teaches since 1991.

He takes part in the editorial board of several journals and is the senior editor of a Hurst book series that he has founded in 1999, Comparative Politics and International Studies. He is also a Non Resident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington D.C. and is a regular commentator on Indian and Pakistani politics in France, UK, north America and in India where he writes a fortnightly column in The Indian Express.

Research

  • Politics of religion and identity in India and Pakistan.
  • Sociology of caste and class in India.
  • Political economy, business and politics in India.
  • India’s agriculture and peasants’ new demands

Christophe is currently (co-)leading four collective research projects on Muslims in India (Henry Luce Foundation, with Princeton University and Columbia University), Shared Sacred Sites in South Asia (Agence National de la Recherche Scientifique - with EHESS), the Social Profile of Indian National and Provincial Elected Representatives (CNRS - with Ashoka University) and Federalism in Pakistan (with Lahore University of Management Science).

Further details

See Christophe's research profile

    Research

    Bolsonaro Yellow Background
    Authoritarianism and populism research group

    Examining the rise and effects of authoritarianism and populism.

    Indo-pacific reefs
    Indo-Pacific research group

    Examining the geo-political strategy of the Indo-Pacific and its relationship with other states.

    News

    Nehru believed democracy is protected by more democracy – not by more laws

    Professor Madhavan K Palat spoke on India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru’s thoughts on democracy at the 2023 Nehru Memorial Lecture hosted by the...

    Prof Madhavan K Palat delivering the Nehru Memorial lecture 2023

    New Avantha Chair appointment for King's India Institute

    Internationally renowned political scientist Professor Niraja Gopal Jayal joins King’s College London

    Professor Niraja Gopal Jayal

    Events

    06JunIndia elections 2024 reduced

    2024 and Beyond: The Implications of India’s Election Results

    Roundtable discussion with Christophe Jaffrelot, Louise Tillin, Anit Mukherjee and Sunil Mitra Kumar.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    07MarImran Khan PTI

    Book talk: The struggle for hegemony in Pakistan: fear, desire and revolutionary horizons

    This talk delves into the recently held elections in Pakistan.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    31MayChina map

    China and the emerging Indo-Pacific order

    This presentation discusses current issues concerning China in the Indo-Pacific region and regional trends.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    05JunNavy-patrol-boat-shutterstock_508313455

    Britain’s strategic tilt to the Indo-Pacific, security and policy debate

    Dr William James explores the rationale and efficacy of small or ‘token’ defence deployments – with a specific focus on the defence component of the...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    24MayImran Khan Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf_resize

    Roundtable on Pakistan’s Political Crisis

    This roundtable will analyse the causes and implications of the ongoing political crisis in Pakistan.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    25AprAnglo-Japanese alliance

    From Concept to Practice: Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific from Abe to Kishida

    The talk reviews Abe’s legacy in forging an alternative vision to the Belt and Road Initiative and examines how Prime Minister Kishida has sought to take it...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    31MarAustralia world

    Shapeshifters: Imagined geographies of Australia’s region

    This webinar will explore the changing conceptions of Australia’s region across the 20th and 21st Centuries. It contextualises Australia’s recent shift...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    15MarBoats on Indian ocean

    Indo-Pacific strategies and EU-ASEAN relations

    Leading experts from the Indo-Pacific and Europe will provide insight into the ASEAN-centered regime in the regional architecture, maritime security and...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    07MarGandhi statue

    India’s Big Man vs. Everyman political histories – A debate

    This debate will juxtapose the ‘big man’ style of historiography, with histories whose chief protagonist is everyman: subaltern, vernacular, ethnographic...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    24Febindia-globe

    Indo-Pacific webinar series: 'India in the Indo-Pacific – a Foreign Policy Reoriented'

    A presentation on the topic by Professor Harsh V Pant, organised as part of the Indo-Pacific Research group webinar series

    Please note: this event has passed.

    Features

    Video: Why Gujarat is key to understanding India under Modi

    In this video, PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHE JAFFRELOT examines the political strategies of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Supporters of Narendra Modi holding up banners of his image

      Research

      Bolsonaro Yellow Background
      Authoritarianism and populism research group

      Examining the rise and effects of authoritarianism and populism.

      Indo-pacific reefs
      Indo-Pacific research group

      Examining the geo-political strategy of the Indo-Pacific and its relationship with other states.

      News

      Nehru believed democracy is protected by more democracy – not by more laws

      Professor Madhavan K Palat spoke on India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru’s thoughts on democracy at the 2023 Nehru Memorial Lecture hosted by the...

      Prof Madhavan K Palat delivering the Nehru Memorial lecture 2023

      New Avantha Chair appointment for King's India Institute

      Internationally renowned political scientist Professor Niraja Gopal Jayal joins King’s College London

      Professor Niraja Gopal Jayal

      Events

      06JunIndia elections 2024 reduced

      2024 and Beyond: The Implications of India’s Election Results

      Roundtable discussion with Christophe Jaffrelot, Louise Tillin, Anit Mukherjee and Sunil Mitra Kumar.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      07MarImran Khan PTI

      Book talk: The struggle for hegemony in Pakistan: fear, desire and revolutionary horizons

      This talk delves into the recently held elections in Pakistan.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      31MayChina map

      China and the emerging Indo-Pacific order

      This presentation discusses current issues concerning China in the Indo-Pacific region and regional trends.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      05JunNavy-patrol-boat-shutterstock_508313455

      Britain’s strategic tilt to the Indo-Pacific, security and policy debate

      Dr William James explores the rationale and efficacy of small or ‘token’ defence deployments – with a specific focus on the defence component of the...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      24MayImran Khan Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf_resize

      Roundtable on Pakistan’s Political Crisis

      This roundtable will analyse the causes and implications of the ongoing political crisis in Pakistan.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      25AprAnglo-Japanese alliance

      From Concept to Practice: Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific from Abe to Kishida

      The talk reviews Abe’s legacy in forging an alternative vision to the Belt and Road Initiative and examines how Prime Minister Kishida has sought to take it...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      31MarAustralia world

      Shapeshifters: Imagined geographies of Australia’s region

      This webinar will explore the changing conceptions of Australia’s region across the 20th and 21st Centuries. It contextualises Australia’s recent shift...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      15MarBoats on Indian ocean

      Indo-Pacific strategies and EU-ASEAN relations

      Leading experts from the Indo-Pacific and Europe will provide insight into the ASEAN-centered regime in the regional architecture, maritime security and...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      07MarGandhi statue

      India’s Big Man vs. Everyman political histories – A debate

      This debate will juxtapose the ‘big man’ style of historiography, with histories whose chief protagonist is everyman: subaltern, vernacular, ethnographic...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      24Febindia-globe

      Indo-Pacific webinar series: 'India in the Indo-Pacific – a Foreign Policy Reoriented'

      A presentation on the topic by Professor Harsh V Pant, organised as part of the Indo-Pacific Research group webinar series

      Please note: this event has passed.

      Features

      Video: Why Gujarat is key to understanding India under Modi

      In this video, PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHE JAFFRELOT examines the political strategies of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

      Supporters of Narendra Modi holding up banners of his image