Prof Nitasha Kaul
Nitasha Kaul is a widely-travelled multidisciplinary academic, novelist, and public intellectual. She is Chair Professor in Politics, International Relations and Critical Interdisciplinary Studies, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) at the University of Westminster, London. She holds a BA Honours in Economics from SRCC, University of Delhi, an MSc (Economics) with a specialisation in Public Policy and a Joint PhD in Economics & Philosophy from University of Hull and has previously been a tenured Assistant Professor in Economics at the Bristol Business School and Associate Professor in Creative Writing in Bhutan.
Over the last three decades, she has published widely on themes relating to democracy, political economy, Hindutva/Indian politics, misogyny and democracy, AI technology and Artificial Intelligence epistemology, identity, rise of global right-wing nationalism, postcolonial international relations, authoritarianism, transnational repression, small states in geopolitics, regions of Bhutan, Kerala, and Kashmir.
At Westminster, Professor Kaul teaches postgraduate modules including "State, Politics and Violence" and "Diplomacy, Crises and Global Challenges" for MA students in Politics and International Relations and Diplomacy and Global Politics. She has supervised numerous doctoral students to completion on topics ranging from small state foreign policy to postcolonial approaches to conflict zones, and serves as internal and external PhD examiner for multiple UK and international universities.
Professor Kaul has secured competitive research funding from prestigious bodies including the British Academy (Knowledge Frontiers Symposia Follow-on Funding; Leverhulme Small Research Grants), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC GCRF International Development Research Networking Scheme Large Grant), and Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) from Research England. Her current research projects include work on AI and democracy, transnational repression, and democratic innovations in South Asia. She has consultation and research knowledge exchange experience with the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), US State Department, UK Cabinet Office, and international organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House.
In October 2019, Professor Kaul was invited to provide expert witness testimony to the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on "Human Rights in South Asia." Her research has been featured in major international media including The New York Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, Time Magazine, BBC, Al Jazeera, and The Independent. She is a member of the INSAAN Network (India and South Asia Analysts Network), a policy-focused network aimed at UK Government and think-tank sectors.
Across the university, Professor Kaul serves on the Social Sciences Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee and contributes to the SDG Dialogue Initiative. She is committed to advancing rigorous and ethical knowledge-making through her research, teaching, and public engagement. Beyond Westminster, she serves on the editorial boards of International Studies Review (ISA) and HIMALAYA (ANHS), is a Trustee and Director of Tibet Watch UK, and holds memberships in major international scholarly associations including the International Studies Association (ISA), British International Studies Association (BISA), European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), and numerous professional organisations.
Professor Kaul is also an accomplished novelist and creative writer. Her debut novel Residue (about Kashmiris outside of Kashmir) was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2009, and her second novel Future Tense (Harper Collins India, 2020) explores the human cost of conflict in Kashmir. She has co-edited groundbreaking volumes including Can You Hear Kashmiri Women Speak? Narratives of Resistance and Resilience (2020) and Contemporary Colonialities: Kurds and Kashmiris (2025).
Previously, Professor Kaul held academic positions in Creative Writing at Royal Thimphu College (Bhutan) and in Economics at the University of the West of England and University of Bath. She has held Visiting Fellowships at institutions including the Australian National University, Centre for Bhutan Studies, and has been invited to speak at universities worldwide including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Georgetown, and Yale.
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Research interests:
Democracy and democratic innovations in South Asia
Authoritarianism, populism, and the erosion of democratic norms
Kashmir: conflict, sovereignty, human rights, and women's experiences
Small states in international relations (Bhutan, Nepal, Himalayan geopolitics)
Postcolonial politics and international relations theory
Gender, misogyny, and political power
Hindu nationalism (Hindutva) and majoritarianism in India
Artificial intelligence, democracy, and ethics
Transnational repression and academic freedom
Political boundaries, borders, and state violence
Creative writing and conflict narratives
Fellowships and Awards (selection):
British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Symposia Follow-on Funding Grant (2023-2024)
British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants (2017-2018, 2019-2020)
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) GCRF International Development Research Networking Scheme Large Grant (2020-2022)
Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021: Ranked 4th for Impact in Politics and International Studies in the UK
Research and Knowledge Exchange Award, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster (2022)
Man Asian Literary Prize Shortlist Award (2009) for novel Residue
Recipient of numerous travel grants from British Academy, ESRC, International Studies Association, Stanford University, and others
Selected Publications
Books and Edited Volumes
Kaul, N. (co-edited with D. Anand) (2025). Contemporary Colonialities: Kurds and Kashmiris. London: University of Westminster Press. Open access. https://doi.org/10.16997/book70
Kaul, N. (2020). Future Tense. Harper Collins India. Literary Fiction.
Kaul, N. (co-edited with A. Zia) (2020). Can You Hear Kashmiri Women Speak? Narratives of Resistance and Resilience. New Delhi: Women Unlimited/Kali for Women Press.
Kaul, N. (2014). Residue. New Delhi: Rupa Publications. [Shortlisted for Man Asian Literary Prize 2009]
Kaul, N. (2007). Imagining Economics Otherwise: Encounters with identity/difference. London: Routledge.
Recent Academic Articles (small selection)
Kaul, N. and Thornton, M. (2025). "Construction and control of cartographic imaginaries: Kashmir and Taiwan." Review of International Studies. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210525000129
Kaul, N. and Cachelin, S. (2024). "Non-Lethal Weapons and the Sensory Repression of Dissent in Democracies." Security Dialogue, 55(4), 368-385.
Kaul, N. and Buchanan, T. (2023). "Misogyny, Authoritarianism, and Climate Change." Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 23(2), 308-333.
Kaul, N. (2022). "3Es for AI: Economics, Explanation, Epistemology." Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2022.833238
Kaul, N. (2022). "Beyond India and China: Bhutan as a Small State in International Relations." International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 22(2), 297-337.
Kaul, N. (2021). "The Misogyny of Authoritarians in Contemporary Democracies." International Studies Review, 23(4), 1619-1645.
Kaul, N. (2021). "'Where is Bhutan?': The Production of Bhutan's Asymmetrical Inbetweenness in Geopolitics." Journal of Asian Studies, 80(2), 317-336.
Policy Reports and Public Scholarship
Written Testimony for US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing on "Human Rights in South Asia" (October 2019)
Expert contributions to The Conversation, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, Financial Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine
Expert commentary featured in BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, France 24, and numerous other international media
Please see the complete CV at https://westminster.academia.edu/NitashaKaul/CurriculumVitae that includes details of all publications, public intellectual work, mentoring, scholarly service, and other professional or public engagement work.
Over the last three decades, she has published widely on themes relating to democracy, political economy, Hindutva/Indian politics, misogyny and democracy, AI technology and Artificial Intelligence epistemology, identity, rise of global right-wing nationalism, postcolonial international relations, authoritarianism, transnational repression, small states in geopolitics, regions of Bhutan, Kerala, and Kashmir.
She has over 155 publications including the academic monograph 'Imagining Economics Otherwise: encounters with identity/difference' (2007), critically acclaimed works of political fiction (Man Asian Literary Prize shortlisted novel 'Residue', 2014 and 'Future Tense', 2020), co-edited scholarly volumes ('Can you hear Kashmiri Women Speak? Narratives of Resistance and Resilience', 2020; 'The Himalayas from its edges: networks, identities, and place-making', 2024; 'Contemporary Colonialities: Kurds and Kashmiris', 2025), numerous book chapters in groundbreaking collections, and peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals across social sciences and humanities.
Originally from Kashmir, educated in India and the UK, and engaging with global audiences, she has significant expertise on the topics of democracy and authoritarianism, gender, security and geopolitics, human rights and conflict. Her work has provided original analytical accounts focused on tracing the links between democratic backsliding, political polarisation, repression of rights, and insecurity; conceptual innovations such as "Hindutva-Development mix and the Modi myth", "Econonationalism", "Postcolonial Neoliberal Nationalism", "Electorally Legitimated Misogynist Authoritarian (ELMA)", "cartographic imaginaries", "sensory repression" have made key contributions to the studies of power and strategy in democracies turning to authoritarianism.
She has led research projects funded by bodies including the AHRC and The British Academy, undertaken research assessment for major international bodies (European Research Council, Swedish Research Council, AHRC, ESRC, ISRF and several UKRI programmes relating to democracy and AI such as SALIENT, BRAID DOT and Turing AI Fellowships), and reviewed research for 45+ journals and major publishers.
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Over 155 publications, including 7 single-authored or edited scholarly and literary books, book chapters in numerous critical and ground-breaking edited collections, plus over 50 peer-reviewed original research articles in SHAPE journals across humanities and social science disciplines such as International Studies Review, Review of International Studies, Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Critical Studies on Security, Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Indian Politics & Policy, Economic & Political Weekly, Journal of Labor and Society, Seminar, South Asian Diaspora, Gender and Development, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Rethinking Marxism, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, Security Dialogue, Itinerario, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, Feminist Review, Journal of Asian Studies.
Selected Recent Articles
"Construction and control of cartographic imaginaries: Kashmir and Taiwan" (Review of International Studies, 2025); "Non-Lethal Weapons and the Sensory Repression of Dissent in Democracies" (Security Dialogue, 2024); "Misogyny, Authoritarianism, and Climate Change" (Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 2023); "Beyond India and China: Bhutan as a Small State in International Relations" (International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 2022); "Coloniality And/As Development in Kashmir: Econonationalism" (Feminist Review, 2021); "The Misogyny of Authoritarians in Contemporary Democracies" (International Studies Review, 2021); "The Political Project of Postcolonial Neoliberal Nationalism" (Indian Politics & Policy, 2019); "Rise of the Political Right in India: Hindutva-Development Mix, Modi Myth, And Dualities" (Journal of Labor and Society, 2017).
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Impact Case Study for REF 2021 contributed to University of Westminster being ranked 4th in the UK for Politics and International Studies in 2022, UoW HEIF Research England Award 2024, British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Award for SHAPE researchers (2023), UoW Research and Knowledge Exchange Award 2022, College Research Directors (CRD) Award 2021, British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant 2019-20/2022-23, Recognising Women of Westminster 2020 Award, Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for' Outstanding and Invaluable Service to Community' by U.S. Congress 2020, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Award 2020-2022, School of Social Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Westminster, British Academy (UK-India) Seed Funding Grant, British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant 2017-18, Erasmus+ (European Commission/ British Council) Staff Teaching Mobility Grant, British Academy (BASIS) Board for Academy Sponsored Institutes and Societies Grant, Man Asian Literary Prize Shortlist Award, British Association for South Asian Studies (BASAS) Grant, Faculty of Humanities, Languages, and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Consultation of Economists' Papers Project materials in Duke's Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library Grant, Duke University, USA, Staff Appreciation Award from UoW MA students 2018, UoW-Smithsonian partnership grant in 2022/23 for research at the Library of Congress and Smithsonian institutions.
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Panel Member, Grants Referee, and Assessor for UK and European Research Funding Bodies
Panel Member, UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) Interdisciplinary Assessment College (IAC); Assessor, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Panel on BRAID DOT: responsible AI collaborations with US researchers; Peer Reviewer, Building a Secure And Resilient World: Research and Coordination (SALIENT), UKRI-funded UK national security and resilience research Hub; Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF) Grants Referee; European Research Council (ERC) (European Commission) Grants Referee; Member of the Peer Review College (PRC) at Arts and Humanities Research Council (PRC, AHRC); Member of the Peer Review College (PRC) at Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); Small Grants Committee, ANHS (The Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies); Trans-Atlantic Platform for Social Sciences and Humanities (T-AP), Democracy, Governance & Trust Scheme (DGT), UKRI (UK Research and Innovation), Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), Assessment for Democracy and Societal Resilience Projects, Review Panel Member.
Please see the complete CV at https://westminster.academia.edu/NitashaKaul/CurriculumVitae that includes details of all publications, public intellectual work, mentoring, scholarly service, and other professional or public engagement work.
