Rehan Rafay Jamil

Dr. Rehan Rafay Jamil is an LSE Fellow in Public Policy and Administration at the Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He specializes in comparative political economy, focusing on programmatic social policies, state-citizen interactions, and policy feedback mechanisms in low- and middle-income democracies. His research emphasizes marginalized groups' engagement with states in contexts of weak institutions and patronage.

Education: PhD in Political Science from Brown University, MA in International Affairs from Columbia University. Previously worked at the World Bank’s Social Protection and Labour Practice and UNDP. Current affiliations include fellowships at LUMS’ Mahbub Ul Haq Research Center and the Collective for Social Science Research.

Research Interests: Social policy expansion in the Global South, policy diffusion, clientelism, and governance in South Asia. His book project, Being Seen By the State, examines Pakistan’s Benazir Income Support Programme’s political origins and impacts on marginalized citizens.

Publications highlight trends in social welfare regime expansions (Latin America), grassroots reforms, inequality reduction strategies, and post-revolutionary governance in the Middle East. His work bridges mixed methods, field surveys, and qualitative analysis.

• Awards: USIP Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar Fellowship, British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, Brown Global Mobility Fellowship.
• Grants: Supported by Pembroke Center, Center for Contemporary South Asia, and AIPS.

Labs/Teams: Affiliated with research centers focusing on South Asian development and global social policy.