Doctoral Research in Political Science in India: Themes and Trends

In this article, we analyse and quantify doctoral works produced in political science departments in India. Using Shodhganga, a digital repository of doctoral works, we analyse works published in English in the political science departments from 2000 to 2024. In this article, we look for the major sub-disciplines and themes explored in political science doctoral theses in India, predominant research trends in state and central universities, and methods and methodologies followed in doctoral works. We connect our findings to how political science courses are designed in our universities and how training provided in political science classrooms at undergraduate and postgraduate levels determines how and what is researched in India.