Lisa Björkman

Lisa Björkman is a Professor at the University of Louisville specializing in urban political ethnography with a focus on infrastructure, governance, and electoral dynamics in Mumbai, India. Her research bridges political science, anthropology, and urban studies through intensive fieldwork.

Her research centers on two major projects: First, a political ethnography examining Mumbai's water infrastructure politics under market liberalization, culminating in the award-winning book Pipe Politics: Mumbai’s Contested Waters (Duke University Press). Second, a postdoctoral study at the Max Planck Institute analyzing electoral cash exchanges during Mumbai's Municipal Corporation elections and their role in shaping socio-political networks and democratic representation.

• Research Approach: Combines ethnographic methods with institutional analysis
• Key Themes: Material politics of infrastructure, speculative relational networks, substantive citizenship claims

Her work has generated significant scholarly recognition, most notably the 2014 Joseph W. Elder Prize for her book on Mumbai's water politics.

Björkman's academic trajectory includes a PhD in Politics from the New School for Social Research (2012) and postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute. She conducts long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Mumbai's informal settlements, focusing on how everyday political practices intersect with formal governance structures.