The year 2024 has been regarded as a year when democracy is on test in multiple countries across the globe. The most recent election results declared in India - the world’s largest democracy - on 4 June 2024 have been hailed as ‘A Triumph for Indian Democracy’ (The Economist).  

Join us for a conversation with Sachin Pilot, Member of the Legislative Assembly in Rajasthan, hosted by Professor Anandi Mani, Professor of Behavioural Economics and Public Policy, and Dr Maya Tudor, Associate Professor of Government and Public Policy, as they seek to understand the forces that have shaped the election outcomes, their implications for India and democracy worldwide. 

Speaker biographies

Sachin Pilot is an Indian politician. At 26 years of age, he was the youngest Member of Parliament when he won his first election in 2004. He went on to get re-elected in 2009 and became a Minister in the Government of India handling portfolios such as Telecommunications, Information and Technology, and Corporate Affairs. He has also been the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Mr Pilot was the first Minister of the Government of India to have been commissioned as a regular officer in the territorial army in 2012 and is serving as a Captain in the 124 Sikh Battalion (TA). Currently he is the National General Secretary of the Congress party and a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Rajasthan. He has been the President of the Congress party in Rajasthan for more than 6 years. He was also recognised as a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum.

Professor Anandi Mani is Professor of Behavioural Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government. Her research interests are in the area of Development Economics, with a specific focus on issues related to the behavioural economics of poverty and social exclusion, gender issues and public good provision. She is a Research Affiliate at Ideas42, a think tank for behavioural economics at Harvard University, and a Fellow at the Centre for Comparative Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) at the University of Warwick. Professor Mani was a programme participant at the World Economic Forum 2017 in Davos and is a member of the Forum's Global Council on the Future of Behavioural Sciences.

Dr Maya Tudor is an Associate Professor of Government and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government. Her research investigates the origins of stable, democratic and effective states across the developing world, with a particular emphasis on South Asia. Before embarking on an academic career, Maya worked as a Special Assistant to Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz at the World Bank, at UNICEF, in the United States Senate, and at the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee. A dual citizen of Germany and the United States, she has lived and worked in Bangladesh, Germany, France, India, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States.