Kavita Khory

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Politics Department

Kavita Khory

Professor of Politics

A Mount Holyoke alumna of the Class of 1984, Politics Professor Kavita Khory focuses her work on international relations and comparative politics, especially in South Asia. The Board of Trustees voted her tenure in March 1996.

Khory has completed a book manuscript and several articles on nationalism and security issues in South Asia. Recent articles have included "Nationalism and the Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan," Nationalism and Ethnic Politics (Winter 1995); "Ethnic Conflict and Security in South Asia," Alternatives; and "The Ideology of the Nation-state and Nationalism in Pakistan," State, Society and Democratic Change in Pakistan (Karachi: Oxford University Press 1995/96).

She is currently developing a comprehensive approach to what security means in South Asia and elsewhere. While traditional state-centric approaches focus strictly on military and strategic threats, Khory's approach seeks to broaden this conception of security and to incorporate factors such as ethnic conflict, environmental issues, and global economy. She is especially interested in exploring the links between security, resource allocation, and political identity.

"I try to transcend the traditional boundaries through which political and social developments have been looked at only within the confines of national borders," noted Khory. "Environmental, ethnic, and political issues--as well as such issues as the flow of drug traffic and traffic in arms--all have local, national, regional, and international implications. South Asia serves as a very good example of an environment which benefits from examination in many ways and at many levels."

In the spring semester of 1996, Khory introduced a new seminar in international security that examines emerging security issues since the end of the Cold War. In addition, Khory teaches courses on world politics, South Asia, and ethnic conflict and nationalism. Khory values having international students in her classes, believing they enrich both the curriculum and campus life. Khory herself was an international student from Karachi, Pakistan. She holds both an A.M. and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.

An active member of the College community, Khory serves on the International Relations Program and the Five College Peace and World Security Studies Program (PAWSS). She is a member of the Academic Policy Committee (APC), which reviews new course proposals, and the new Educational Priorities Committee (EPC), formed by President Joanne V. Creighton to define the College's mission and goals.