Shashwat Dhar is a research associate at the Centre for Public Policy, Habitat and Human Development, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Mumbai). His primary field of interest is comparative politics, with a special emphasis on party systems and political regimes. He has worked as a research intern with Lokniti, Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi. He holds a Master’s in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Mumbai), and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Hindu College, University of Delhi.