Celebrating her 20th anniversary in the United States, Aakriti Tandon has amassed an impressive litany of accomplishments since leaving Mumbai, India in 2002.

An associate professor of Daemen’s History and Political Science Department, Tandon dedicates her research to determining how nations can resolve disputes without resorting to violence, instead utilizing peaceful mediation and diplomatic negotiation.

She has authored several articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, and most recently released her book India as Kingmaker: Status Quo or Revisionist State?, published by the University of Michigan Press.

“The book emphasizes the role and value of international treaties in creating meaningful and long term cooperation between states,” said Tandon. “Given my expertise in India’s political system and foreign policy, the book attempts to provide a current account of India’s foreign relations by way of analyzing its treaty networks.”

The book also focuses on India’s role in shaping the future of the global order, explained Tandon.

“India finds itself in the unique position of kingmaker – it can either help to preserve the existing liberal order by siding with the United States and Western liberal allies or it could help reshape the global order by aligning with revisionist states, such as Russia and China,” she said.

Tandon explained that the book also reflects her efforts to emphasize global knowledge and learning at Daemen.

“I encourage my students to familiarize themselves with current global affairs and integrate them in my teaching on a regular basis,” she said, noting that her international relations class participated in ongoing discussions about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the past year. Also, her comparative politics class was immersed in analyzing the United Kingdom’s rapidly changing political landscape.