Dear All,
Please join us this Thursday (October 1, 2026) at 12:30 PM Eastern Time (United States) (9.30 AM Pacific Time, 6.30 PM Central European Time) for the next session of the virtual workshop in HPE.
Our schedule for the 2026/27 academic year can be found here: https://historicalpe.org/schedule-past-participants/.
The paper this week will be presented by Rikhil Bhavnani (University of Wisconsin-Madison), co-authored with Saumitra Jha (Stanford University). Volha Charnysh (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has graciously agreed to provide an initial set of comments, before we open the floor for an audience Q&A.
You can find the link to the paper below and the link to our Zoom meeting at the end of this email:
Paper Link:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/uc01eoihcwyt3o2zfxv59/Bhavnani_Jha_Peace_Der…
Title:
Peace Derailed: The Effects of Mass Protests on Religious Conflict in South Asia
Abstract:
Constructive inter-ethnic contact—in teams, social movements or political coalitions—is often considered conducive to inter-ethnic peace. Under what conditions does this work, and when can it fail: when can cross-ethnic mobilization lead instead to religious conflict, doing so even in places with long histories of peaceful coexistence? Using novel archival data, we study the effects of the first pro-Independence mass mobilization across religious lines in South Asia (1921–22) on the subsequent breakdown of religious tolerance. We exploit a temporary exogenous shock to local cross-religious mobilization stemming from the 8,000 mile pre-planned tour of the Prince of Wales in 1921–22. We show that protests due to the visit raised the propensity of a district to experience a subsequent religious riot by 87 percent, including in places that never before experienced such violence. Furthermore, in these districts, the hazard of the first breakdown of inter-religious peace in any year rises threefold. We interpret these results as reflecting how mobilizing cross-ethnic coalitions, without also aligning long-term complementary incentives, can actually undermine inter-religious peace.
We look forward to seeing you there!
All the best,
Dima Kofanov
On behalf of the co-conveners (Aslı, Dima, Tine, and Jan)
Zoom information:
https://pitt.zoom.us/j/94092284922
Meeting ID: 940 9228 4922
Passcode: 746183
Dmitrii Kofanov
Post-Doctoral Associate
Center for Governance and Markets<https://www.cgm.pitt.edu/>
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs<https://www.gspia.pitt.edu/>
University of Pittsburgh
My website<https://sites.google.com/view/dmitrii-kofanov>
