Heewon Kim

Heewon Kim is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Aston University's College of Business and Social Sciences. She holds a PhD from SOAS, University of London, and previously served as a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at SOAS. Her research focuses on South Asian politics, particularly India's management of religious diversity since 1947, Hindu nationalism post-2014, and the intersection of religions and development. Her work explores public policies affecting religious minorities, communal violence, and post-conflict reconstruction.

Education:

• PhD in Study of Religions, SOAS, University of London
• MA in International Organisations and Human Security, Sookmyung Women’s University (Seoul)
• BA in International Studies, Sookmyung Women’s University

Research Interests: Her studies investigate majoritarianism, authoritarianism, and populism in India, alongside comparative public policy frameworks. She collaborates with the Religions and Development Research Programme (DFID-funded) at the University of Birmingham and SOAS to analyze Asia-Africa comparative perspectives on faith-based organizations in post-conflict contexts.

Key Contributions: Her 2019 book The Struggle for Equality: India's Muslims and Rethinking the UPA Experience examines minority rights under India's UPA government. Current projects include analyzing Modi's government policies toward religious minorities. Her articles address Sikh nationalism decline, BJP-led minority exclusion dynamics, and civil society roles in South Asia.

Awards:

• British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (£320,000 FEC, 2018)

Advising & Grants: Supervised 1 research project. Research collaborations include transnational studies on communal violence and development-religion intersections. Active in policy analysis networks linking academia with DFID initiatives.