Britt Leake

I am a PhD candidate in political science at UC Berkeley. My research interests include multicultural democracy, contemporary Middle Eastern and South Asian politics, liberal democratic theory, Islamic political theory, the impact of religious identity in the development of modern languages, and the broader politics of cultural identity. Outside of the Middle East and South Asia, I am also working on projects involving multicultural democracy in Canada, Spain, and France. 

My dissertation project, which blends comparative political history and applied political philosophy, examines the origins, development, and failings of four multicultural democracies (India, Lebanon, Spain, and Canada) built on the principle of unity in diversity.

I hold a BA/MA in international studies and BAs in Arabic and French from the University of Oklahoma. I am also the recipient of a Fulbright-Nehru Student Research grant (India, 2020), a State Department Critical Language Scholarship award (Arabic - Amman, Jordan, 2019), and four Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships (Hindi, 2020-21; Urdu, 2021-22; Urdu, 2025-26; Urdu, 2026). Additionally, I have received research grants from the Edward Hildebrand Graduate Fellowship (Canadian Studies Program) and the Al-Falah Program in Islamic Studies (Center for Middle Eastern Studies), and the Bhattacharya Graduate Fellowship on Contemporary India (Institute for South Asia Studies) at UC Berkeley.

Recent publications: 

"Translating the values of the French Revolution: Democracy and Islam in 19th-century Egyptian political thought." Comparative Political Theory 6 (2026): 1-25.

"French ontological security and the Algerian War." Review of International Studies 51, no. 4 (2025): 726-45.

(With Pradeep Chhibber) "The temporary and partial personalization of political parties in India: A comparison of Indira Gandhi's INC and Narendra Modi's BJP." Social Science Quarterly 105, no. 3 (2024): 461-73.