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Zuhad Hai

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Is Information Technology a Weapon of the Weak or Tool of State Hegemony?

Conflict and Polarization Initiative Fellow | 2018 - 2019 Academic Year

Governance and Institutions

Scholars, journalists, and policymakers have all become increasingly concerned about the role of communication technology on the spread of conflict. Within the context of South Asia alone, modern social media has been accused of aiding the spread of violence in contexts as varied as of rumors about child abductors, ‘WhatsApp Lynchings’ over cow-meat consumption and attributions of blame for terrorist attacks. In this project, we explore the historical role of communication technology on the spread of violent conflict in the context of the Indian mutiny of 1857. Specifically, we consider the role of telegraph and postal networks on the likelihood of mutinying at regiments across British Indian.


Zuhad Hai, Department of Political Science

zuhad hai

Zuhad Hai is a PhD student in political science. He is interested in international political economy, particularly the politics of technological change, specialization and comparative advantage. He holds a BA in mathematics and economics from Grinnell College and an MA in international relations from the University of Chicago. Prior to Stanford he worked as a research assistant at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

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