Political Science Department
Africana Studies
Asian Studies
Peace and Conflict StudiesÌý
Associate ProfessorÌý
Ph.D., Northwestern University
Fields:ÌýComparative Politics, African Politics, South Asian Politics, political violence
Contact Information
·¡³¾²¹¾±±ô:Ìýamalik@holycross.edu
Office Phone: 508-793-2516
Office: Fenwick 311
Office Hours:Ìý
Ìý
Biography
My research is focused on the study of political violence, gender-based violence, and social movements and contentious politics in Africa and South Asia. I am a mixed-methods researcher: my work combines insights from in-depth, multi-sited fieldwork with analyses of quantitative conflict datasets. Through such approaches, I seek to uncover both broad patterns of violence and trace the causal mechanisms that generate conflict. I am also interested in the philosophy of social science and in small-N cross-regional comparisons.Ìý
My first book, (Cambridge University Press 2024), develops a theoretical and empirical account of the relationship between elites, political parties, and party-based violence. This research is based on a cross-regional comparison of Kenya and India with subnational comparisons in the two countries. The book relies on a host of qualitative and quantitative data to account for the conditions under which political parties can become instruments for conflict.
A second long-term project seeks to explain why some incidents of sexual violence result in mass protests while others do not. I am especially interested in understanding how the efforts of feminist activists and media reporters inform ordinary citizens' willingness to take to the streets. I have completed initial fieldwork for this project in India and South Africa, where I am studying variations in public responses to a number of lethal rapes. I am conducting further fieldwork in both countries in 2024.Ìý
To date, my research has taken me to Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Cambodia, India, and Nepal where I have studied various facets of conflict and conflict resolution. My academic work has appeared in venues such asÌýHuman Rights Review;ÌýHuman Rights Quarterly;ÌýAfrican ConflictÌý& Peacebuilding Review;ÌýCommonwealth & Comparative Politics;ÌýPolitics, Groups, and Identities;ÌýAfrican Studies Review;ÌýIndia Review;Ìýand Zed Books, among others. In addition, I have conducted policy analysis for the World Bank and the United Nations, and my writing and analyses have also appeared in public-facing outlets such asÌýThe Monkey CageÌýblog atÌýThe Washington Post;ÌýThe Conversation (Africa);ÌýandÌýDeutsche Welle.ÌýÌý
I frequently involve º£½ÇÉçÇø students in my research asÌýResearch Associates, so please do reach out if assisting in my work is of interest to you. I am also committed to increasing the visibility ofÌýÌýandÌýÌýin the political science discipline.ÌýI earned my Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University, my MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge (where I studied as aÌý), and my B.A. in Government and Economics from Franklin & Marshall College (where I graduated as Valedictorian). Prior to arriving at º£½ÇÉçÇø, I served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Africana Research Center at Penn State University.Ìý
Courses
- Introduction to Comparative Politics
- African Politics
- South Asian PoliticsÌý
- Women, War, and Violence (seminar)