Education: Doctoral Degree

Languages: Chinese, English, Hindi

Email: leidk@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn

Research Countries/Regions: India, South Asia

Research Interests: Political Institutions, Center-state Relations, Special Economic Zones, Middle-level Governance, Government-Business Relations.

• B.A. in Hindi Language and Literature, Beijing Foreign Studies University, China.

• M.A. in Political Science, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.

• Ph.D. in Political Science, Department of International Relations, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, China.

• 2022-2023 Post-doc, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, UK.

• 2016-2017 Visiting Researcher, Institute for South Asia Studies, UC Berkeley, USA.

• 2017-2019 Studies in CPS, SSS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.

• Lei, Dingkun, India’s Neo-Middle Class: Development and Political Influence, South Asian Studies, No.3, 2024, pp.26-56 (Peer-reviewed Journal in Chinese; CSSCI);

• Lei, Dingkun. “Land Acquisition Challenges in India’s Industrialization Process: The Role of Institutional Reforms and Local Governance,” Indian Ocean Economic and Political Review, No.4, 2024, pp.96-122. （Peer-reviewed Journal in Chinese; CSSCI Expanded）

• Lei, Dingkun. “Evolving Center-State Relations under the Modi-Administration: A Perspective Based on Institutional Space,” South Asian Studies, No.1, 2023, pp. 97-126. (Peer-reviewed Journal in Chinese; CSSCI)

• Lei, Dingkun & Renjie Feng. “India’s Strategy of ‘Using the Sea to Control the Land’”, Contemporary International Relations, No.1, 2023, pp. 62-80. (Peer-reviewed Journal in Chinese; CSSCI)

• Yang, Chongsheng, Lei, Dingkun & Feng, Lida. “Development of Special Economic Zones (SEZ): A Comparative Study Based on China, South Africa and India,” South Asian Review, No.3, 2023, pp.3-37. (Peer-reviewed Journal in Chinese)

• Lei, Dingkun. “Statehood Demand in India and Its Mechanism and Process,” South Asian Studies Quarterly, Vol.1, No.1, 2020, pp.61-71. (Peer-reviewed Journal in Chinese, CSSCI.)

• Lei, Dingkun, Zhao Kejin. “Multi-Perspectives Analysis on India’s Special Economic Zones,” South Asian Studies, No.1, 2018, pp.114-140. (Peer-reviewed Journal in Chinese, CSSCI.)

• Feng, Renjie, Dingkun Lei. “Mamallapuram Summit Held in Uncertainties: India’s and China’s Continuing Efforts to Pluck Low-Hanging Fruit,” East Asian Policy, Vol.11, No.4, 2019, pp.28-36. (ESCI)

• Hu, Shisheng and Lei, Dingkun. “Great Power Competition in the Middle East: A Chinese Perspective,” in Amina Khan ed., Pakistan’s Strategic Frontiers, CAMEA, 2023, pp.29-45.

• Lei, Dingkun. “Center-State Relations,” in Xie Chao (ed.), Political Institutions in India, Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2021, pp.317-364.

• Lei, Dingkun. “South Asia and Indian Ocean Region,” in Zhao Kejin (ed.), Area Studies, Beijing: Tsinghua University Press, 2023, pp.151-170.

• Lei, Dingkun and Xie Chao. The India’s Internal Dynamics of the Galwan Valley Conflict and Its Implications for Sino-Indian Relations, in Yang Jian (ed.), Report of China’s Neighboring Diplomacy Studies (2020-2021), World Affairs Press, 2023, pp. 193-204.

• Lei, Dingkun. “Briefly Discussing about the Chinese Learning Craze in Nepal,” Field Journal, No. 2, Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University, March 2024.

• Lei, Dingkun. “‘Slow’ Development: A Reflection on the Discourse of India’s Developmentalism,” in Gao, Liangmin et al. eds., The Globe as a Field, Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2022, pp. 423-438.

• Lei, Dingkun. “Frenzy and Reality: State Assembly Elections in India Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic”, Area Observation, No.5,2020.

• Lei, Dingkun. “A Brief Analysis of Epidemic Management at the Federal Government Level in India,” Area Observation, No.1, 2020.

• Lei, Dingkun. “Behind the Sino-Indian Galwan River Conflict: A Brief Analysis of India’s Domestic Political Trends,” Area Observation, No.2, 2020.

• Feng, R.J. and D.K. Lei. “Contrasting Interpretations of Mamallapuram Summit: A Similar Expectation with Different Emphases”, China-India Brief, 2019, published by Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

• Feng, R.J. and D.K. Lei.“Three Issues for Modi and Xi to Consider,” Rediff, Oct.10, 2019. https://www.rediff.com/news/column/three-issues-for-modi-and-xi-to-consider/20191010.htm.

• Lei, Dingkun. “India’s Latest Constitutional Amendment, Is it a Step too Far?” Guancha, Jan 12, 2019. https://www.guancha.cn/leidingkun/2019_01_13_486675.shtml.

• Lei, Dingkun. “Modi Makes Another Bold Move by Removing Kashmir’s Special Status,” Guancha, Aug 7, 2019. https://www.guancha.cn/leidingkun/2019_08_07_512574.shtml.

• 2023.4 Third Tsinghua Area Studies Forum: Developing Countries in the Age of Uncertainties: Risks, Resilience and Interdependency

• 2020.11 China South Asia Association 2020 Annual Conference.

  Presentation: Discussion on Fiscal Federalism through the Lens of Center-State Interactions in India.

• 2019.11 A Symposium on “Middle-Level Governance From Comparative Perspectives”, Wuhan University.

  Presentation: An Exploration of the Dynamics and Institutions of Center-State Relations in India.

• 2019.7 2019 Annual Academic Conference of the International Political Studies Committee of the Chinese Society of Higher Education – Doctoral Student Sub-forum.

  Paper submitted and presented: An Analysis of India’s ‘weak’ State Capacity.

• 2019.7 1st Tsinghua Area Studies Forum: Innovating New Approaches to Common Challenges in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

  Paper submitted and presented: Internal Secession Politics in India: A Perspective of Superimposition Identity Mode.

• 2017.5 Young Scholars Research Symposium: A Celebration of Student Excellence, Institute for South Asia Studies, UC Berkeley.
  Presentation:A Discussion——Challenges of SEZ Development in India: Timing, Policy Positioning and Governance.