His research examines the linkages between political parties and ordinary voters, ethnic and religious politics, and patterns of public spending in poor democracies. He received his PhD in from Cornell University’s Department of Government in 2009. His dissertation, The Saffron Wave Meets the Silent Revolution: Why the Poor Vote for Hindu Nationalists in India examines the effectiveness of social services provided by the traditionally upper caste Hindu nationalist movement in mobilizing lower caste voters. This project was recently awarded the American Political Science Association’s 2010 Gabriel Almond Award for best dissertation in comparative politics. His work has appeared in World Politics, Comparative Politics and Contemporary South Asia. He is currently writing a book manuscript based on his dissertation research.