Professor Christophe Jaffrelot
Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology
Research interests
- International development
- Politics
Contact details
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
Research
Authoritarianism and populism research group
Examining the rise and effects of authoritarianism and populism.
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...
New Avantha Chair appointment for King's India Institute
Internationally renowned political scientist Professor Niraja Gopal Jayal joins King’s College London
Events
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Research
Authoritarianism and populism research group
Examining the rise and effects of authoritarianism and populism.
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...
New Avantha Chair appointment for King's India Institute
Internationally renowned political scientist Professor Niraja Gopal Jayal joins King’s College London
Events
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.