Location | Contact

Room:	24, 1st floor
Tel.:	+49 6221 5415293
Email:	jha@uni-heidelberg.de
Office Hours:	Wednesday 16:00-18:00
	https://heiconf.uni-heidelberg.de/him-akr-6eu
	Please email to seek an appointment.

Academia Profile: https://nct-heidelberg.academia.edu/HimanshuJha

Personal Homepage

 

POSITION

Lecturer and Research Fellow

ABOUT HIMANSHU JHA

Himanshu Jha holds a PhD in Political Science (South Asian Studies) from National University of Singapore. He has an M. Phil in Public Policy from Australian National University, Masters in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Bachelor with Honors in History from University of Delhi.   Jha's most recent research is to explore the processes of institutional change. His doctoral work examined the evolution of Right to Information Act in India as a case of institutional change. He wishes to strengthen and expand his research in the fields of institutions, institutional change, the Indian State and bureaucracy. He has previously taught courses on South Asian politics and economics at the National University of Singapore.  Prior to his doctoral and academic engagement, he was working in developmental sector in India, where he served as the national coordinator of a policy think tank called Social Watch.

CURRICULUM VITAE

RESEARCH FIELDS/INTERESTS

Institutions

Institutional Change

State

Bureaucratic Culture

Indian Politics

Governance and Politics of Welfare

EDUCATION

PhD, National University of Singapore

M.Phil in Public Policy, Australian National University

M.A. in Political Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University

B.A History (Honours.), University of Delhi

 

PUBLICATIONS 

BOOKS

• Capturing Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India, (Oxford University Press: New Delhi, 2020).

• Public Policy and Governance in India: Persistence and Change, (Palgrave Macmillan: London, Forthcoming June 2021).

• Jivanta Schottli and Himanshu Jha (eds.), Globalization and Governance in India, (Routledge, London, Forthcoming April 2021).

 

PEER – REVIEWED ARTICLES

• “Institutional Change in the Welfare Regime in India: Broadening the Dominant Narratives”, (Review article), Indian Politics & Policy, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Fall 2019).

• With Rahul Mukherji, “Ideas and Policy Paradigms: Explaining the fall of welfare politics in West Bengal”, Indian Politics & Policy, Volume.2, No.2 (Fall 2019).

• With Sumit Ganguly, “The BJP’s Puzzling Victory: Was it About Hindu Nationalism?”, The Washington Quarterly Vol.42, No. 3 (2019).

• “Untangling Global-Local Linkages: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India”, India Review, Vol.18, No. 1 (January–February 2019).

• “State Processes, Ideas, and Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India”, Pacific Affairs Vol.91, No. 2 (June 2018).

• “Institutional Progression of the Right to Information Act: Emerging Politics of Accountability”, (Special Article), Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 53, No. 10 (March 2018).

• With Rahul Mukherji, “Bureaucratic Rationality, Political Will and State Capacity: MGNREGS in Undivided Andhra Pradesh” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 52, No. 49 (December 2017).

• “Policy Impact on Institutions of Federal Financial Transfers in Australia and India”, Indian Journal of Public Administration Vol. 50, No. 3, Special Number on “Management of Central and State Finances: Present Status and Future Prospects”, (July –October 2004).

• “Institutions of Intergovernmental Relations in the Federal Framework of Australia and India”, Indian Journal of Federal Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2 (2003).

 

SPECIAL ISSUES EDITED

• With Jivanta Schottli, Co-edited Special Issue, “Globalization and Governance in India”, India Review, Vol. 18, No. 1(January–February 2019)

 

In Progress

• Politics of Welfare and Governance in India, Review Essay, Journal of Asian Studies (Forthcoming November 2021)

 

BOOK CHAPTERS

• With Rahul Mukherji, “India and Bangladesh in Climate Change Finance: From Structural Conflict to Embedded Liberalism”, in Global Governance, Tim Büthe, ed., (Oxford University Press: New York, Forthcoming).

• “Emerging Politics of Accountability: Sub-national reflections from Bihar”, in Madhushree Sekher and Radu Carciumaru, ed., Including the Excluded in South Asia? Power, Politics and Policies, (Springer: Singapore, 2019)

• With Rahul Mukherji, “The State, Ideas and Welfare in India: Reflections on Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal”, in Vidu Verma, ed., State in India: Reflections on Contemporary Politics, (Orient Blackswan: New Delhi, 2019).

• “National Social Watch Coalition in India: A tool for governance Accountability”, in Ashwani Kumar, Mary Kaldor, Jan Aart Scholte, Helmut Anheier, Marlies Glasius and Hakan Seckinelgin, eds., Global Civil Society Yearbook 2009 Poverty and Activism, (Sage: London, California, New Delhi, Singapore, May 2009

• “Policy As Instrument for Reconciling Diversity: Experience of the Indian federal System”, in John Kinciad and Rupak Chattopadhyay, eds., Policy Issues in Federalism: International Perspectives. (Forum of Federations: Ottawa, 2008)

• “Privatization in Federal Systems: Electricity Sector in Australia and India”, in S.N.Mishra and S. Mishra, eds., Public Governance And Decentralization, (Mittal Publications: New Delhi, 2003)

 

BOOK REVIEWS

• Multi-Book Review, “Freud’s Mahabharata and Freud’s India: Sigmund Freud and India’s First Psychoanalyst Girindrasekhar Bose”, by Alf Hiltebeitel, Journal of Asian Studies  (Forthcoming March 2021)

• “How India became democratic: Citizenship and the making of the universal franchise” by Ornit Shani, Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, (March 2020).

• With Balaji Parthasarathy, “The Rise of the Hybrid Domain: Collaborative Governance for Social Innovation” by Yuko Aoyama, Journal of Southeast Asian Economies Vol. 36, No. 1 (Apr 2019).

• With Antonella Cordone, “Markets and Indigenous Peoples in Asia: Lessons from Development Projects” by Dev Nathan, Ganesh Thapa, Govind Kelkar, Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, Vol. 31, No. 1 (April 2014).

• “Civil Society and Democratization in India: Institutions, Ideologies and Interests” by Sarbeswar Sahoo, Asian Journal of Social Science Vol. 42 (2014).

• “India Today: Economy, Politics and Society” by Stuart Corbridge, John Harris and Craig Jeffery, eds., Asian Journal of Social Science, Vol. 41 (2013).

• “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty” by Daron Acemoglu and James.A.Robinson, ASEAN Economic Bulletin, Vol. 29, No.2 (August 2012).

 

TEACHING

Teaching at the Heidelberg University 2016- till present

Seminar on Politics in India (Winter Semester 2016-17)

Seminar on Governance and Politics of Welfare in South Asia (Summer Semester 2017; Summer Semester 2020)

Seminar on Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in Social Science (Summer Semester 2017) (Co-taught with Dr.Seyed Hossein Zarhani)

Seminar on Politics and Governance in India (Winter Semester 2017-18)

Seminar on Transparency, Accountability, and Corruption in South Asia (Summer Semester 2018; Winter Semester 2019-2020)

Seminar on Public Policies and Institutions in South Asia: Persistence and Change (Winter Semester 2018-19)

Seminar on Politics of Climate Change in South Asia: Perspectives on Global Governance (Winter Semester 2018-19)

Seminar on Politics of Climate Change in South Asia (Summer Semester 2019;Winter Semester 2020-21)

Seminar on Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in Social Science (Summer Semester 2020)

Teaching at the National University of Singapore (NUS),Singapore 2012-2016

January 2016-June 2016 - Taught a B.A Honors module on Social , Political and Economic Change in India .

January 2012-January 2016- Part of the teaching team for two B.A courses :1. South Asia: People, Culture and Development and 2. South Asians in Singapore.

Received Two Graduate Teaching Award at the NUS for Teaching Undertaken in Semester I 2012-13 and Semester II 2012-13 at the NUS.