Rahul Sagar

Global Network Associate Professor of Political Science Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi

Research Websites: Ideas of India

Research Areas: Political theory; Political ethics; Public policy


Rahul Sagar is Global Network Associate Professor of Political Science at NYU Abu Dhabi. He was previously Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale NUS and Assistant Professor of Politics at Princeton University.

Sagar's primary research interests are in political theory, political ethics, and public policy. He has written on a range of topics including executive power, moderation, and political realism. He is also deeply interested in the politics and society of India, especially Indian political thought.

His first book, Secrets and Leaks: The Dilemma of State Secrecy, published by Princeton University Press in 2013, received the National Academy of Public Administration’s 2014 Louis Brownlow Award, the Society for the Policy Sciences’ 2015 Myres S. McDougal Prize, and was designated a 2014 CHOICE Outstanding Title.

Sagar's work has been published in a number of edited volumes and peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Political Philosophy, The Journal of Politics, Ethics and International Affairs, and Polity. He is a Global Ethics Fellow at the Carnegie Council and has received grants from a number of organizations including the Smith Richardson Foundation.

He has a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University (2007) and a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Balliol College, Oxford University (2000). He has been cited by or appeared on a number of media outlets including CNN, BBC, NPR, ABC, Foreign Affairs, The New York Review of Books, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Slate, Deutsche Welle, Channel News Asia, and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Courses Taught