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Nikita Sud

(she / her)
Professor of the Politics of Development, University of Oxford

Nikita Sud has taught Politics and Critical Development Studies since 2006. Her research uses inter- and multi-disciplinary lenses to explore the state and governance in the Global South, the politics of economic liberalisation, the political economy of natural resources, and more recently, the politics of green energy.

Nikita is the author of 'Liberalisation, Hindu Nationalism and The State: A Biography of Gujarat' (Oxford University Press, 2012). The book is a long term study of the western region that is home to India's controversial Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Her next book 'The Making of Land and The Making of India' (Oxford University Press, 2021) interrogates the dynamic human-nature relationship in contexts of globalised development. She is now working on 'Powered by the South: Energy, Extraction, and Assertion in the Postcolonial World' (Princeton University Press). A longer list of publications is available here: https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/people/nikita-sud

Nikita's research has featured in Mongabay, The Land Portal, Thomson Reuters Place, The Telegraph, The Times of India, The Hindu, The Indian Express, Outlook, Tehelka, TheWire.in, Scroll.in, NDTV, The Tribune, Dainik Bhaskar, East Asia Forum, Mediapart (France), Sudwind Magazin (Austria), Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Business, OpenDemocracy, BBC World Service, Radio 4, BBC News, Radio France, Al Jazeera, Nikkei Asian Review, TRT World, Thompson Reuters Place, Los Angeles Times, and Radio Ö1 of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, among others. Many moons ago, she used to anchor music programmes on All India Radio.

Experience

  • 2021–present
    Professor of the Politics of Development, University of Oxford
  • 2011–2021
    Associate Professor of Development Studies, University of Oxford

Education

  • 2007 
    University of Oxford, DPhil in Development Studies
  • 1999 
    Delhi University, BA (Honours) History

Honours

Sanjaya Lall Prize; Oxford University Teaching Excellence Award; Falling Walls Social Science Award