Institute for South Asia Studies

On April 14, 2026, ISAS hosted a talk by Jennifer Bussell, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Political Science and Director of the Center on Contemporary India, on her new book, Shocks and Politics: Understanding Disaster Preparedness.

In her talk, Bussell examined why some governments invest in disaster preparedness while others do not, arguing that politically vulnerable leaders—shaped by past hazard exposure and strong opposition—are more likely to act. She also emphasized that such action depends on whether the state has the capacity to implement preparedness efforts, drawing on case studies from Africa and South Asia.

Many thanks to Gilles Daniel M. Verniers, Research Fellow at the Center for International Studies (CERI), Sciences Po, for serving as discussant, and to Munis D. Faruqui for moderating the conversation.

ISAS also published a SARN—a short pamphlet outlining key aspects of the book—which can be found here: https://southasia.berkeley.edu/SARN

Photos from the event below.

On April 24, 2026, ISAS hosted a powerful panel on the politics of minoritization in South Asia. Bringing together perspectives from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India, the conversation explored how state power, law, and social hierarchies produce and police the categories of “majority” and “minority.”

Many thanks to our brilliant panelists: Aanmona Priyadarshini, Sadia Saeed, Sharika Thiranagama, and Vinayak Chaturvedi. Special thanks to Ussama Makdisi, who offered framing comments and also served as discussant. We are also grateful to Munis D. Faruqui for his opening remarks.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this urgent and deeply engaging conversation.

Photos from the event below. A link to the FB livestream of the event here: https://fb.watch/GLu9YGQQZs/