Wilfried Swenden

Wilfried Swenden is a Professor of South Asian and Comparative Politics at the University of Edinburgh, School of Social and Political Science. He hails from Belgium, having earned a D.Phil in Politics from the University of Oxford and prior academic qualifications from KULeuven and ULBruxelles.

• Research Focus: Comparative federalism, territorial party politics, majoritarian nationalism in South Asia, intergovernmental relations, and governance in divided societies.
• Active Grants: Recent British Academy-GRCF collaborative grant (2021-2023) on COVID-19 and the South Asian State, Leverhulme International Network (2014-2017) on Indian federalism, and support from the Economic and Social Research Council, Edinburgh Global Innovation Fund, and Hayter Fund.
• Supervision: Accepts PhD proposals on territorial party politics in India, constitutional reform in multi-level states, and conflict regulation via federalism/regionalism in South Asia.

Recent Publications (2021-2025) address federalism's resilience during crises, majoritarian nationalism in India/Pakistan/Sri Lanka, and intergovernmental relations. Key journals include Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Contemporary South Asia, and Regional & Federal Studies.

Scientific Awards:

• Flemish Fund for Scientific Research (FWO) postdoctoral fellowship