A reactionary antidemocratic ethos born and bred in America has come to infect democracies around the world. This is the central thesis of a timely new book by the journalist Zack Beauchamp, The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World.Through a mix of political history and reportage, The Reactionary Spirit reveals how the United States serves the birthplace of a new authoritarian style, and why we’re now seeing its evolution in a diverse set of countries ranging from Hungary to Israel to India.Zack is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers challenges to democracy in the United States and abroad, right-wing populism, and the world of ideas. He is also the author of “On the Right,” a newsletter about the American conservative movement.To talk more about the book and our current political moment, Zack joins Milan on the show this week. The two discuss the rise of competitive authoritarianism, inequality and democracy, and the strange era of “autocracy without autocrats.” Plus, Zack and Milan discuss transnational linkages between rightwing populists and India’s role in the global fight for reclaiming democracy.Episode notes:1. Zack Beauchamp, “Why do US politics affect the rest of the world?” Vox, February 28, 2025.2.Zack Beauchamp, “Their democracy died. They have lessons for America about Trump’s power grab,” February 5, 2025. 3.Zack Beauchamp, “America’s reactionary moment is here,” Vox, November 19, 2024.4.Zack Beauchamp, “The global trend that pushed Donald Trump to victory,” Vox, November 6, 2024.5.Zack Beauchamp, “Why the far right is surging all over the world,” Vox, July 17, 2024.

Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished diplomat and author, shares his inspiring journey from childhood poverty in Singapore to becoming a major diplomatic figure. He discusses the profound influence of his mother and the cultural ties between India and Southeast Asia. Mahbubani reflects on his experiences at the UN, the principles behind Singapore’s success, and his interactions with the influential Lee Kuan Yew. The conversation delves into Asia's cultural renaissance and its implications for the global order, emphasizing the region's rising importance in the 21st century.

Tara Varma, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and an expert on European foreign policy, delves into the shifting dynamics between Europe, the U.S., and India. The conversation highlights the strategic importance of a recent European Commission visit to New Delhi and the implications for an EU-India trade pact. They also discuss the widening rift between the U.S. and Europe, the rise of right-wing nationalism, and the potential for a new geopolitical realignment involving China and Russia.

Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America and author of "Vishwa Shastra: India and the World," dives deep into India's evolving foreign policy. He tackles misconceptions about India's strategic culture and highlights its pre-independence influences. Dhruva also discusses the tensions in India-Pakistan relations and the challenges India faces in Southeast Asia. Additionally, he examines how past non-alignment policies shape contemporary strategies and what the Trump administration's potential return could mean for India.

Rajesh Rajagopalan, a Professor of International Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University and an expert in U.S.-India relations, offers insightful takes on the recent Modi-Trump meeting. The discussion covers two contrasting narratives about the visit and the precarious state of U.S.-India ties amid a volatile political climate. Rajesh emphasizes the stagnation in defense collaborations and India's technology transfer demands. The conversation also touches on challenges posed by China and the implications of Elon Musk's influence on diplomacy.

On February 1, the finance minister revealed the latest Indian budget amidst a backdrop of slowing economic growth. On February 8, a new government in the state of Delhi was elected and, for the first time in a quarter-century, it’s headed by the BJP. And on February 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had his first face-to-face sit-down with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in the Trump 2.0 era.To discuss the latest events and what they mean for India, Milan is joined on the show this week by Grand Tamasha regulars by two Grand Tamasha regulars, Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution and Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal.They discuss the BJP’s striking political resilience, the fortunes of the Aam Aaadmi Party, and India’s current economic malaise. Plus, they discuss Modi’s high-stakes meetings with Trump and Elon Musk and the future of the China-India-United States relationship.Episode notes:“Will India's Budget 2025 Turn the Economic Tide? (with Sumukar Ranganathan)” Grand Tamasha, February 5, 2025. Sadanand Dhume, “Foreign Lessons in the Perils of DEI and Affirmative Action,” Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2025. Tanvi Madan, “Top Gun and Scattershot,” Times of India, January 20, 2025. Sadanand Dhume, “Manmohan Singh’s Mixed Economic Legacy,” Wall Street Journal, January 1, 2025. Tanvi Madan, “India is Hoping for a Trump Bump,” Foreign Affairs, December 5, 2024.

On September 5, 2017, the journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot and killed outside of her house in Bangalore by armed assailants traveling on a motorbike. Lankesh, a journalist and social activist, was known for being a fierce critic of right-wing Hindutva politics and her murder has widely been seen as retribution for her outspoken views. A new book by the journalist Rollo Romig, I Am on the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India, recounts the extraordinary life and tragic death of Gauri Lankesh. Rollo is a journalist, essayist, and critic. He has been reporting on South India since 2013, most often for The New York Times Magazine. To talk more about his new book and his years reporting from south India, Rollo joins Milan on the show this week. They discuss Rollo’s love affair with Bangalore, Lankesh’s complex character, the shadowy rightwing organization Sanatan Sanstha implicated in her killing, and the police investigation into her death. Plus, the two discuss Gauri Lankesh’s legacy and what her murder tells us about the state of contemporary India. Episode notes: Nitish Pahwa, “A Reporter Who Risked and Lost Her Life in Modi’s India,” New York Times, August 6, 2024. Rollo Romig, “How to Steal a River,” The New York Times Magazine, March 1, 2017. Rollo Romig, “What Happens When a State Is Run by Movie Stars?” The New York Times Magazine, July 1, 2015. Rollo Romig, “Masala Dosa to Die For,” The New York Times Magazine, May 7, 2014.

“How Bureaucracy Can Work for the Poor (with Akshay Mangla),” Grand Tamasha, March 29, 2023. Yamini Aiyar and Shrayana Bhattacharya, “The Post Office Paradox: A Case Study of the Block Level Education Bureaucracy,” Economic & Political Weekly 51, no. 11 (2016). Lant Pritchett, “Is India a Flailing State?: Detours on the Four Lane Highway to Modernization,” HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-013, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2009. Devesh Kapur, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and Milan Vaishnav, Rethinking Public Institutions in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2017).

Grand Tamasha is Carnegie’s weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy co-produced with the Hindustan Times, a leading Indian media house. For five years (and counting), Milan has interviewed authors, journalists, policymakers, and practitioners working on contemporary India to give listeners across the globe a glimpse into life in the world’s most populous country.For the past two years, in anticipation of the show’s holiday hiatus, we’ve published an annual list of our favorite books featured on the podcast over the previous twelve months.In keeping with this tradition, here—in no particular order—are Grand Tamasha’s top books of 2024.Savarkar and the Making of HindutvaBy Janaki Bakhle. Published by Princeton University Press.Accelerating India's Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective GovernanceBy Karthik Muralidharan. Published by Penguin Viking India.The Identity Project: The Unmaking of a Democracy (published in the United States and the UK as The New India: The Unmaking of the World’s Largest Democracy)By Rahul Bhatia. Published by Context (South Asia); Little, Brown (UK); and PublicAffairs (United States).In this special bonus episode, Milan talks about why he loved each of these books and includes short clips from his conversations with Janaki, Karthik, and Rahul.This is the final episode of our twelfth season. Thanks to our listeners to being such loyal followers of the show. We’re excited to kick off our thirteenth season in mid-January after taking a short holiday break.

“The Lessons of Gujarat Under Modi (with Christophe Jaffrelot),” Grand Tamasha, May 29, 2024. Pradeep Chhibber and Adnan Naseemullah, “This is how Modi is different from other Right-wing populists like Trump, Erdogan & Duterte,” ThePrint, August 21, 2019.