Institute for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Congratulations to PPE Lampert Fellow, Srikar Gullapalli '13, on his award of a Watson Fellowship!

Congratulations, Srikar!

As a Lampert Fellow, Gullapalli worked under the direction of Michael Johnston, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science, exploring the “demand-side” of corruption, in Bangalore, India. The demand for corruption is grounded on the assumption that a bribe is necessary to ensure timely, or rather, less untimely service from a corrupt and lethargic bureaucracy.

Yet, based on oodles of evidence he gathered from those who had actually just used a governmental service, Gullapalli demonstrated that this assumption is actually wrong! Not only did Srikar challenge a major tenet of scholarship with this project, he also provided Internet-based tools to empower citizens in fighting corruption.

With his Watson Fellowship, Srikar will extend his study of local accountability structures and political dialogue. READ MORE

See also:

• Should I or Shudhify? - Colgate Scene article
• What Location-Based Analysis of Governance Tells Us About the Demand Side of Corruption: Evidence from Bangalore, India
• Effectiveness of Location-Based Evaluation of Government Services in Improving Indian Governance

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For the academic year 2012-2013, the institute's theme shall be political leadership, a topic we shall explore in several manifestations.

Mission

We will discuss bringing a polity into being, that is, leader as founder; leadership in relation to law and whether a leader in the name of prudence or prerogative should ever go above or outside the law; civilian leadership in relationship to military leadership; the role of military leaders in democratic transition; political leaders and religion, religious leaders and politics; the education of leaders; and more.

Mindful that the university’s faculty are stretched thin, its programming abundant, and its resources limited, the institute has endeavored since its inception to coordinate, where appropriate, with other programs, bringing thereby new energy, initiative, and focus to topics related to its annual theme.