Dr. Balu Sunilraj is a scholar of Political Science with interests spanning a wide range of research topics, including party politics, public policy, political economy, political sociology, cultural themes, and labour-related questions.
He holds a Ph.D in Political Science from the Centre for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. His doctoral dissertation explored the manifestation of party-society linkages and partisanship from a comparative perspective, focusing on the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
While he continues to explore Kerala’s socio-political dynamics, his research interests have broadened to include cultural contestations, the interrelationship between caste and politics, social mobility, and populist politics. He has published his research in esteemed journals such as Contemporary South Asia, Studies in Indian Politics, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, and Economic and Political Weekly.
Notable accolades include serving as a visiting fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London, under the ESRC-funded India-European Networking grant.
Dr. Sunilraj is eager to continue exploring and contributing to research addressing contemporary societal challenges.