CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Diya TV) — Feyaad Allie, an Indian-origin assistant professor of government at Harvard University, has been selected as a 2025 CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar—a prestigious honor awarded by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) to early-career researchers tackling some of the world’s most urgent and complex issues.
Allie, a political scientist specializing in identity, inclusion, and democracy in South Asia, joins CIFAR’s interdisciplinary “Boundaries, Membership, and Belonging” cluster. This cohort unites researchers across law, philosophy, psychology, economics, and political science to explore themes of identity, intergroup relations, and democratic participation.
“It was an exciting moment,” Allie told Harvard Gazette. “It’s just nice to know the things I study have importance to people across disciplines and different universities.”
The CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program, now in its tenth year, selects just 12 emerging researchers annually from a competitive pool of applicants—232 this year. Participants are embedded in one of several “impact clusters,” research teams that tackle long-term global challenges. Other clusters in the 2025 cohort will explore artificial intelligence, environmental change, and more.
The Quebec-based Azrieli Foundation provides unrestricted funding of 100,000 Canadian dollars (approximately USD 73,000) to each selected scholar. Allie plans to use the grant to complete his first book project, which investigates the representation of minority groups in multiethnic democracies, particularly focusing on the political experience of minorities in India.
“My book highlights how hard it is for minorities to sustain power electorally,” he said. “In office, minorities must walk this tricky balance of sustaining support from dominant groups while also attending to all of the heterogeneity within the minority group.”
The funding will also support new fieldwork as he continues a broader research agenda exploring the health of liberal democracy. Allie is currently co-authoring a project examining how civil society helps political parties protect democratic institutions. Looking ahead, he hopes to investigate the role students and universities play in shaping democratic trajectories in India and globally.
CIFAR’s program not only provides financial support but also mentorship and global networking opportunities. Allie emphasized the value of working closely with leading scholars across disciplines. “They’re all at the cutting-edge on the topic of intergroup relations,” he said. “I’ll have the opportunity to be mentored by these leaders while engaging with their work in a multi-disciplinary way.”
Founded in 1982, CIFAR is a Canadian-based global research organization that convenes top minds from around the world to address scientific and societal questions. The Azrieli Global Scholars program, launched in 2016, is designed to boost the careers of promising early-career researchers by providing both resources and a collaborative intellectual environment.
The 2025 CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars cohort includes academics based in the United States, Canada, Germany, Ireland, and Israel. As part of the program, scholars participate in cross-border collaborations, workshops, and regular engagement with their cluster colleagues over two years.
Allie’s selection highlights both his contributions to political science and the increasing global attention on questions of identity and inclusion in democracies under pressure.