http://www.tariqthachil.com/about daily 1.0 2025-12-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5310a4d8e4b05a56d51f81c8/0aaf435d-d6e3-4639-903e-25fcfa497090/UPennCASIPortraits-54.jpg About I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. I hold a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University (2003), and a Ph.D in Government from Cornell University (2009). Vanderbilt Faculty Page http://www.tariqthachil.com/research daily 0.75 2021-04-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5310a4d8e4b05a56d51f81c8/1524252390347-9E618D8CXGHCHK916Z3F/image-asset.jpeg Elite Parties Book - summary Why do poor people often vote against their material interests? This puzzle has been famously studied within wealthy Western democracies, yet the fact that the poor voter paradox also routinely manifests within poor countries has remained unexplored. This book studies how this paradox emerged in India, the world’s largest democracy. Tariq Thachil shows how arguments from studies of wealthy democracies (such as moral values voting) and the global south (such as patronage or ethnic appeals) cannot explain why poor voters in poor countries support parties that represent elite policy interests. He instead draws on extensive survey data and fieldwork to document a novel strategy through which elite parties can recruit the poor, while retaining the rich. He shows how these parties can win over disadvantaged voters by privately providing them with basic social services via grassroots affiliates. Such outsourcing permits the party itself to continue to represent the policy interests of its privileged base. http://www.tariqthachil.com/op-eds-other daily 0.75 2021-04-06 http://www.tariqthachil.com/articles daily 0.75 2025-05-28 http://www.tariqthachil.com/home-alt daily 0.75 2014-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390500612440-PGQSIY8KL9F7T5VIXQLO/chambers-2.jpg Home Alt A better world Starts with a choice Contact Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390500503574-5BAPXZO9U06UV61P49UO/chambers1.jpg Home Alt Sustainability Starts with you Join Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390500933384-LII4SRIPHFYOUFX0UCXC/chambers-4.jpg Home Alt A better world Starts with a choice Join Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390504287124-HQ8GNX1JCE22V047MSQ9/chambers-8.jpg Home Alt Preserve Nature Join Us http://www.tariqthachil.com/bookinprogress daily 0.75 2025-11-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5310a4d8e4b05a56d51f81c8/67340a58-82c9-4d14-9358-2a93164991d1/Book+Cover.jpeg Migrants & Machines Book