Jingyi Zhang is a PhD student in the Department of International Development at King’s College London. His research interests include neoliberalism, Marxism, and Indian political economy.

Jingyi holds an MA degree in International Relations from New York University and a BA in International Politics from Fudan University, China. He is also an assistant editor and a member of the social media team of the journal Asian Journal of Law and Society.

Research

Thesis title: 'Assembling Neoliberalism in India: Investigating the role of the state'

The research question this thesis seeks to answer is: what is the role of the state, especially in terms of its federalism, in navigating the neoliberalization process in India?

The core argument of this project is that the neoliberal process initiated in 1991 has led to the creation of a structural "central government-states" assemblage, which has become the primary entity governing the neoliberal project in India. This assemblage represents the political form of neoliberal hegemony, navigating three different but overlapping challenges: entrenching the neoliberal agenda into the political institutions (state restructuring); nurturing a new class structure under the new system of accumulation (class reorganization); and mitigating and co-opting the public resistance.

This research will adopt a comparative case study, focusing on Tamil Nadu and Kerala, to examine the federal dynamics and explain the making of variegated neoliberalisms within India. The research relies on socio-economic data, official archive data and the fieldwork primarily in the form of semi-structured interviews to examine respective social articulations within India.

PhD supervision

• Principal supervisor: Dr Ewa Karwowski

Further details

See Jingyi's research profile