Research areas

Shalaka’s research focuses on questions of political order, power and authority in conflict zones. She has been conducting extensive field research in north-east India over the last decade, looking at the relationships between the state, non-state armed groups, businesses and civil society as windows into understanding armed group governance, public authority and political economy in conflict zones. In her past research she has explored the informal economy at the India-Myanmar border, led a project with the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) on armed group checkpoints and their relationship with legitimacy and violence, looked at how armed group taxation shapes the conduct of civilians, and investigated the role of women’s agency in shaping conflict dynamics. 

Current research

Shalaka is currently a postdoctoral researcher on the project 'Trade-based statecraft: the new spatial logic of the state' (TRADECRAFT), which explores the role of checkpoints and transit taxes in state-making. Her fieldwork focuses on the borderlands between India and Myanmar, analysing how checkpoints, civilians and authorities interact to shape order and the economy.