Francesca Refsum Jensenius

• Barthwal, Ankita & Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2026). Loyal voters in volatile elections: Partisanship and voting behavior in India. Party Politics. ISSN 1354-0688. doi: 10.1177/13540688261430531. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Partisan loyalties have been found to stabilize voting behavior in democracies with strongly institutionalized party systems. This article considers how party exit and weak partisanship—two characteristics of weakly institutionalized party systems—undermine partisanship’s stabilizing effect on voting patterns. Drawing on the Indian National Election Study from 2019 and an original survey on partisanship in northern India, we show that whereas partisan voting does not look high at first glance, partisans are likely to support their preferred party when it is actually on the ballot. Further, when their preferred party is on the ballot, partisans have higher turnout and vote in a more stable manner than non-partisans. These patterns are stronger among those with longer-standing or more intensely felt attachments. Our findings highlight the importance of taking both the electoral landscape and variation in partisanship strength into account when studying the effects of partisanship in new contexts.

• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep; Alam, Sanjeer; Gupta, Pranav & Somanathan, Madhavan (2025). Indian election data for polling stations and villages: National elections 2009–2019. Scientific Data. 12(1). doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-05418-6. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper describes the creation of a dataset covering polling-station-level election returns from the 2009, 2014, and 2019 Indian general elections. Indian elections are the largest in the world, and parliamentary constituencies are enormous. Within-constituency analysis is therefore crucial to address important political questions. Polling stations are the lowest level at which election returns are released. We have collected, cleaned, and standardized data on votes cast for each candidate across about 500,000 polling stations in 11 states for 2009 and 2014 and about 162,000 polling stations from one state for 2019. Polling-station numbers change between elections, while census units are more stable and can be traced over time. Using census indicators, we manually link polling stations to villages and towns in their catchment area, making it possible to merge the election data with census data and to observe local-level voting patterns over time. Our manual approach enabled us to link about 95% of the polling stations to corresponding census units and ensured a high degree of data reliability.

• Mjelva, Mathilde Bålsrud; Schutte, Sebastian; Binningsbø, Helga Malmin & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2025). Beyond Hate Speech: Online Rumors and Out-Group Resentment in Divided Societies. Comparative Political Studies. ISSN 0010-4140. doi: 10.1177/00104140251381753. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The political consequences of hate speech on social media are the subject of intense research. Studies from Europe and North America have found that online exposure to hate speech affects both attitudes and offline behavior. Moving beyond hate speech, we show how little it takes for online rumors to stoke inter-group tensions in divided societies. In a pre-registered survey experiment with 3075 Hindu social media users in India, we navigate ethical challenges with very mild information treatments, post-treatment fact-checks, and debriefs. We find that even subtle online rumors change sentiments toward entire groups and heighten conflict-related emotions, especially when combined with injustice frames. As none of our information treatments classify as hate speech, these problems appear inherent to social media technology and point toward a need for a broader debate on policy responses.

• Baltzersen, Eli Sofie; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Skorge, Øyvind Søraas (2025). State Action and Moral Attitudes toward Sexual Consent. Journal of Politics. ISSN 0022-3816. doi: 10.1086/737554. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In recent years, several countries have moved from a coercion-based to a consent-based legal definition of rape. Building on expressive law theory, we discuss how a move to consent-based rape legislation may shift moral attitudes toward sexual consent. In this Registered Report, we test this prediction experimentally in Norway, where a proposal was recently made to include consent in the current coercion-based legal framework. Providing information treatments about current and proposed legislation to a representative sample of Norwegian citizens and large additional samples of civil servants and elected representatives, allows us to test the expressive power of the proposed law while holding information about current legislation constant. Contrary to our pre-registered hypothesis, we find a small backlash effect among citizens who are informed about the proposed legal reform. In our exploratory sub-group analysis, we find a positive effect of our information treatment only in the sample of elected politicians.

• Barthwal, Ankita & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2025). Motivations for partisan attachment in the developing world. Electoral Studies: an international journal on voting and electoral systems and strategy. ISSN 0261-3794. 94. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2025.102896. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In developing countries, partisanship is pervasive, but its motivations remain largely unexplored. Whereas non-programmatic party–voter linkages dominate the political discourse in these contexts, we posit that such linkages are probably not the sole motivating factor behind partisanship. Drawing on interviews and an original survey from India – a context rife with non-programmatic exchanges – we find that partisans generally attribute their loyalty to parties’ ideological positions and policy platforms. This finding is reinforced by a priming experiment in which respondents made to reflect on parties’ ideologies and policies were more likely to self-report as partisans. Priming non-programmatic party–voter linkages in the form of community-based favoritism produces no discernible effect. Exploring differences between those attributing their own partisan loyalty to more programmatic or more non-programmatic motivations, we find the former group to be more consistent in their voting patterns and more likely to report negative partisanship, though both groups express similar levels of affective partisan attachment. Our findings underscore the need for more nuanced theorizing of partisanship and its effects in the developing world.

• Chaudhuri, Ananish; Iversen, Vegard; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Maitra, Pushkar (2025). Selecting the “Best”? Competing Dimensionsof Politician Quality in the Developing World. British Journal of Political Science. ISSN 0007-1234. 55. doi: 10.1017/S0007123425000225. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Evidence suggests that politicians in advanced democracies are positively selected on characteristics relevant to their suitability for political office. Whereas stereotypes abound, much less is known about the quality of politicians in developing countries. Drawing on unique experimental and survey data on village-level politicians in West Bengal, India, we find some evidence of positive selection into office: elected politicians are more educated, motivated, and have greater integrity than their constituents. However, they also have lower cognitive ability and are more likely to come from politically networked families. Comparing first-timers with re-elected politicians, we observe that experienced politicians display somewhat more political knowledge and motivation than their inexperienced peers, but are also more likely to be wealthy and male. Our findings demonstrate that conclusions about politician quality depend critically on measurement choices and that there may be competing dimensions of politician quality in the developing world.

• Barthwal, Ankita & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Women and corruption in South Asia. In Bacchus, Emily & Barnes, Tiffany (Ed.), Handbook on Gender and Corruption in Democracies. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781803923239. p. 277–291. doi: 10.4337/9781803923246.00032. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter reviews research on women and corruption in public office in South Asia. Overall, we find little evidence of a gender gap in corruption in politics in South Asia, especially in high-level office. We argue that this is related to how women enter into politics and the incentives they face while in office. In high-level positions, most women enter politics because of familial connections, and they are unlikely to succeed in the high-stakes political game unless they are willing and able to play as tough as their male colleagues. At the local level, on the other hand, women mostly come to power through electoral quotas. Here, the evidence suggests that women are less prone to corrupt behavior initially, though among more seasoned local politicians, men and women are as likely to engage in dishonest or corrupt behavior. These findings indicate that until institutional-level reforms take place that reduce corruption overall, inclusion of women alone will not be enough to dent widespread corruption.

• Chauchard, Simon & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2023). Do Scheduled Caste Reservations for Political Office Improve the Lives of Dalits? In Sudha, Pai; Babu, D. Shyam & Verma, Rahul (Ed.), Dalits in the New Millennium. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781009231220. p. 357–373. doi: 10.1017/9781009231220.020. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Over the past 20 years, much empirical work has examined the impact – on a variety of outcomes – of political reservations for members of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in India. In this chapter, we provide an overview of what we know about the effects of reservations in the Indian parliament, state legislatures, and local-level elected bodies, to date.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2022). Privileging One’s Own? Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Comparative Political Studies. ISSN 0010-4140. doi: 10.1177/00104140221109430. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How do politicians allocate public resources? Despite the extensive literature on distributive politics, we have limited micro-level evidence for why and under what circumstances politicians choose various allocation strategies. India’s discretionary constituency development scheme (MPLADS) provides an excellent opportunity to study the spending choices of individual politicians. Drawing on an original dataset linking voting patterns across 227,507 villages in the 2009 general elections to MPLADS allocations 2009–2014, we find that politicians generally channel more projects and resources to villages that vote for them in higher numbers. We then leverage a natural experiment created by the delimitation (redistricting) of electoral boundaries in 2008 to provide causal evidence that spending choices are driven by short-term electoral incentives. Finally, we show that allocation patterns differ by the type of party that has brought a politician to power. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on heterogeneity in politicians’ distributional choices.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2022). Party System Institutionalization and Economic Voting: Evidence from India. Journal of Politics. ISSN 0022-3816. 84(2), p. 814–830. doi: 10.1086/716297. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  It is well established that a country’s institutional features can weaken economic voting because voters find it hard to attribute performance to specific parties. We argue that local-level party system institutionalization similarly moderates the link between the economy and vote choice. We focus on one manifestation of party system institutionalization: the strength of party-candidate linkages in elections, operationalized by manually tracing the rerunning patterns of some 80,000 candidates in Indian state elections between 1986 and 2007. Using rerunning patterns to measure party-candidate linkages and rainfall data to measure the state of the economy, we show that voters were more likely to reward incumbent parties for economic performance when parties and candidates were aligned in consecutive elections. We address concerns of endogeneity in rerunning patterns, by showing that the results are robust to alternate measures of local-level party system institutionalization. They are also robust to alternative measures of the state of the economy and to using individual-level survey data.

• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2022). Expressive Power of Anti-Violence Legislation: Changes in Social Norms on Violence Against Women in Mexico. World Politics. ISSN 0043-8871. 74(1), p. 1–36. doi: 10.1017/S0043887121000186. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  We know more about why laws on violence against women (VAW) were adopted than about how much and in what ways these laws affect society. The authors argue that even weakly enforced laws can contribute to positive social change. They theorize the expressive power of VAW legislation, and present evidence for a cautiously optimistic assessment of current trends on violence against women and the ways that VAW laws affect social norms. Focusing on a time of major legal change related to VAW in Mexico, this article explores trends in behavior and attitudes related to violence by analyzing four waves of the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relations (ENDIREH), which include detailed interviews with thousands of Mexican women. The authors find that over this period, the share of women experiencing intimate-partner abuse declined, attitudes condoning violence shifted, reporting rates rose, and most women learned about legislation to protect their rights. These changes are consistent with the authors’ expectations about the expressive power of anti-violence legislation.

• Htun, Mala; Jensenius, Francesca R.; Tinkler, Justine; Dominguez, Melanie Sayuri & Contreras, Carlos (2022). Effects of Mandatory Sexual Misconduct Training on University Campuses. Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World. 8. doi: 10.1177/23780231221124574. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper explores whether mandatory, universal, in-person sexual misconduct training achieves its goals to build knowledge about sexual assault and harassment and increase intentions to report episodes of assault. We present results from three studies with quasi-experimental designs as well as interviews with students and staff at a diverse public university in the western United States. Our surprising finding is that participating in training makes women students less likely to say they will report experiences of sexual assault to university authorities. The training produces some small positive effects: students gain broader definitions of sexual misconduct, are less likely to endorse common rape myths, and women students express less sexist attitudes immediately after training. Our study raises questions about whether one-shot training helps to reduce sexual violence and increase reporting on college campuses and whether universities should invest in these types of training.

• Chaudhuri, Ananish; Iversen, Vegard; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Maitra, Pushkar (2022). Time in Office and the Changing Gender Gap in Dishonesty: Evidence from Local Politics in India. American Journal of Political Science (AJPS). ISSN 0092-5853. doi: 10.1111/ajps.12733. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Increasing the share of women in politics is often promoted as a means to reduce corruption. Recent studies indicate the importance of considering the gender gap in corruption as a dynamic, rather than static, phenomenon. Our study combines data from surveys and incentivized behavioral games among 400 inexperienced and experienced local politicians in West Bengal, India. We find no gender gap in attitudes toward corruption. However, in incentivized games, inexperienced female politicians are more honest than their male counterparts. No such gender gap exists among experienced politicians. Drawing on a theoretical discussion of four possible mechanisms, we find that the apparent increase in dishonest behavior among female politicians is associated with lower risk aversion and stronger political networks. Our findings indicate that women, like men, are socialized into their local political culture and that benefits from changing who is elected may be short-lived unless that culture is also changed.

• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Comparative Analysis for Theory Development. In Simmons, Erica S. & Smith, Nicholas Rush (Ed.), Rethinking Comparison : Innovative Methods for Qualitative Political Inquiry. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108966009. p. 190–207. doi: 10.1017/9781108966009.010. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Methodological texts about comparative work have focused overwhelmingly on controlled comparisons aimed at causal inference. To show the range of possible goals and approaches, this piece reflects on our own choices while studying the state and women's empowerment in Norway, Japan, and the United States. We show how our research design evolved with our theoretical thinking, and explain that we did not select comparative "cases," but rather diverse contexts with interesting variation in our main concept of interest. Finally, we discuss how we constructed multi-cultural research teams to take advantage of insider and outsider perspectives during fieldwork.

• Carpena, Fenella & Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2021). Age of marriage and women’s political engagement: Evidence from india. Journal of Politics. ISSN 0022-3816. 83(4), p. 1–52. doi: 10.1086/712141. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Although decades have passed since most women in the democratic world gained the right to vote and run for election, a large gender gap in political participation persists, particularly in developing countries. This short paper considers an important—and previously overlooked—factor limiting the political engagement of many women in the developing world: marriage age. Drawing on nationally representative data from India and instrumenting marriage age with menarche age, we find delaying marriage has substantial positive effects on women’s everyday political participation. A standard deviation increase in marriage age makes a woman 25 percent more likely to attend local council meetings, and 8 percent more likely to discuss politics with her husband. Exploring mechanisms, we show that education and time—rather than employment, mobility, and household decision-making power—appear to be the main channels. These findings underscore the critical role of early marriage in impeding women’s participation in the political sphere.

• Chhibber, Pradeep; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Ostermann, Susan (2021). Missing Girls: Women’s Education and Declining Child Sex Ratios in India. Economic and Political Weekly. ISSN 0012-9976. 56(6), p. 52–60. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Sex ratios in India have been declining for decades, and “missing girls” are a serious social and political problem. Drawing on subdistrict-level data from the 2001 and 2011 Censuses and detailed data on women’s education and fertility, we show that more-educated mothers have fewer girl children than less-educated mothers, but that these girls are also more likely to survive. The policy implication of these findings is that among uneducated mothers, the focus should be on child treatment and survival; among educated mothers, attitudinal campaigns that emphasise the value of having girl children are likely to be more successful.

• Auerbach, Adam Michael; Bussell, Jennifer; Chauchard, Simon; Jensenius, Francesca Refsum; Nellis, Gareth & Schneider, Mark [Show all 12 contributors for this article] (2021). Rethinking the Study of Electoral Politics in the Developing World: Reflections on the Indian Case. Perspectives on Politics. ISSN 1537-5927. 20(1), p. 250–264. doi: 10.1017/S1537592721000062. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In the study of electoral politics and political behavior in the developing world, India is often considered to be an exemplar of the centrality of contingency in distributive politics, the role of ethnicity in shaping political behavior, and the organizational weakness of political parties. Whereas these axioms have some empirical basis, the massive changes in political practices, the vast variation in political patterns, and the burgeoning literature on subnational dynamics in India mean that such generalizations are not tenable. In this article, we consider research on India that compels us to rethink the contention that India neatly fits the prevailing wisdom in the comparative politics literature. Our objective is to elucidate how the many nuanced insights about Indian politics can improve our understanding of electoral behavior both across and within other countries, allowing us to question core assumptions in theories of comparative politics.

• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). Aspirational Laws as Weak Institutions Legislation to Combat Violence against Women in Mexico. In Brinks, Daniel M.; Levitsky, Stephen & Murillo, Maria V. (Ed.), The Politics of Institutional Weakness in Latin America. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108776608. p. 141–160. doi: 10.1017/9781108776608.006. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In the past four decades, governments around the world have embraced principles of gender equality. Democratic transitions, feminist movements, international norms, lobbying by politicians, partisan competition, technocratic decision-making, regional and global diffusion, and varying combinations of these and other factors have pushed countries to grant women and other marginalized groups equal rights and greater recognition. Governments have reformed laws and adopted policies in many areas, including violence against women, maternity and parental leave, presence in political decision-making, egalitarian family law, abortion, reproductive health, and workplace equality. Still, there is significant cross-national variation in the timing and extent of change (see Htun and Weldon 2018).

• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). Political Change, Women’s Rights, and Public Opinion on Gender Equality in Myanmar. European Journal of Development Research. ISSN 0957-8811. 32, p. 457–481. doi: 10.1057/s41287-020-00266-z. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Myanmar’s introduction of competitive elections after decades of military rule raised expectations for progress in economic and social development, including in the area of women’s rights. In this paper, we draw on data from two national surveys, interviews, and existing qualitative studies to explore public opinion on women’s rights and gender equality. Do Burmese people support gender equality? How are their views on gender related to other aspects of political culture, such as traditional values and views toward authoritarianism and democracy? Our objective is to gain better understanding of the opportunities and obstacles to egalitarian social change and democratic consolidation. Our analysis of survey data reveals that attitudes toward gender roles are conservative, traditional and anti-democratic beliefs are widespread, and these views are strongly associated. Our findings imply that tendencies in public opinion provide a resource for Burmese nationalist groups and politicians and an obstacle to activists seeking greater alignment with global norms on gender equality.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). India: A Contradictory Record. In Franceschet, Susan; Krook, Mona Lena & Tan, Netina (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights. Palgrave Macmillan. ISSN 9781137590732. p. 673–688. doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-59074-9. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter provides a review of the role of women in Indian politics, with a focus on female legislators. It begins with an account of the entry of women into politics in the early 20th century. Second, it looks at the gradual increase in the number of women MPs and the barriers they have faced. The third section presents the debate that resulted in quotas (‘reservations’) for women in local-level politics, but not in the more influential parliament and state assemblies. The final section is about some characteristics of women MPs. This review demonstrates some of the key barriers that keep women out of elected office in India, but also highlights the diversity of the women who have come to power despite these obstacles.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Htun, Mala (2019). Fighting Violence Against Women: Laws, Norms & Challenges Ahead. Daedalus. ISSN 0011-5266. 249(1(2020)), p. 144–159. doi: 10.1162/daed_a_01779. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In the 1990s and 2000s, pressure from feminist movements and allies succeeded in pushing scores of states to reform their laws to prevent and punish violence against women (VAW). Even in states with progressive legislation, however, activists face challenges to induce citizens to comply with the law, compel state authorities to enforce the law, and ensure the adequate allocation of resources for social support services. In this essay, we take stock of legislative developments related to VAW around the world, with a focus on the variation in approaches toward intimate partner violence and sexual harassment. We analyze efforts to align behavior with progressive legislation, and end with a discussion of the balance activists must strike between fighting VAW aggressively with the carceral and social support dimensions of state power, while exercising some restraint to avoid the potentially counterproductive effects of state action.

• Bhavnani, Rikhil & Jensenius, Francesca (2019). Voting for development? Ruling coalitions and literacy in India. Electoral Studies: an international journal on voting and electoral systems and strategy. ISSN 0261-3794. 62, p. 1–13. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2019.102069. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Across the world, governments skew the distribution of state resources for political gain. But does such politicisation of resource allocation affect development trajectories in the long run? We focus on the long-term effects of voting for the ruling coalition on primary education in India. Using a close-election instrumental variable design and drawing on a new socio-economic dataset of India's state assembly constituencies in 1971 and 2001, we examine whether areas represented by members of ruling coalitions experienced greater increases in literacy over 30 years. We find no evidence of this being the case, in the overall data or in relevant sub-samples. The null results are precisely estimated, and are consistent across OLS and 2SLS specifications and several robustness checks. These findings suggest the politicised distribution of some funds in the short run does not affect long-term development trajectories.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Kinship in Indian Politics: Dynasties, nepotism and imagined families. In Haugevik, Kristin M. & Neumann, Iver (Ed.), Kinship in International Relations. Routledge. ISSN 9781138580558. p. 138–153. doi: 10.4324/9780429507267-8. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Kinship, whether by blood or by imagination, plays an important role in Indian politics. It is visible in the frequent use of family terms used to address political allies and leaders, as well as to describe relations between both communities and countries. It is also evident in the high numbers of dynastic leaders in elected office. Family ties can help people succeed professionally or get out of trouble. The prevalence of nepotism has also affected both political discourses and institutional choices. This chapter reflects on the role of kinship in Indian politics.

• Htun, Mala; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Nelson-Nunez, Jami (2019). Gender-Discriminatory Laws and Women’s Economic Agency. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society. ISSN 1072-4745. 26(2), p. 193–222. doi: 10.1093/sp/jxy042. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Recent years have seen widespread advances in women’s legal rights in many countries. In other places, restrictions on women’s autonomy remain entrenched. This study explores cross-country patterns in the association between gender-discriminatory legislation and various indicators of women’s economic agency. We find that restrictions on legal capacity predict women’s asset ownership and labor force participation, while discrimination in wage work and parental leave are associated with the size and direction of wage gaps. These findings highlight the importance of conceptualizing and measuring legal rights and their potential effects as multidimensional.

• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Htun, Mala; Samuels, David J.; Singer, David A.; Lawrence, Adria & Chwe, Micheal (2018). Benefits and Pitfalls of Google Scholar. PS: Political Science and Politics. ISSN 1049-0965. doi: 10.1017/S104909651800094X. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Google Scholar (GS) is an important tool that faculty, administrators, and external reviewers use to evaluate the scholarly impact of candidates for jobs, tenure, and promotion. This article highlights both the benefits of GS—including the reliability and consistency of its citation counts and its platform for disseminating scholarship and facilitating networking—and its pitfalls. GS has biases because citation is a social and political process that disadvantages certain groups, including women, younger scholars, scholars in smaller research communities, and scholars opting for risky and innovative work. GS counts also reflect practices of strategic citation that exacerbate existing hierarchies and inequalities. As a result, it is imperative that political scientists incorporate other data sources, especially independent scholarly judgment, when making decisions that are crucial for careers. External reviewers have a unique obligation to offer a reasoned, rigorous, and qualitative assessment of a scholar’s contributions and therefore should not use GS.

• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2018). Comparative Analysis for Theory Development: Reflections on a Study of Women’s Empowerment. Qualitative & Multi-Method Research. ISSN 2153-6767. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Methodological texts about comparative work have focused overwhelmingly on controlled comparisons aimed at causal inference. To show the range of possible goals and approaches, this piece reflects on our own choices while studying the state and women’s empowerment in Norway, Japan, and the United States. We show how our research design evolved with our theoretical thinking, and explain that we did not select comparative “cases,” but rather diverse contexts with interesting variation in our main concept of interest. Finally, we discuss how we constructed multi-cultural research teams to take advantage of insider and outsider perspectives during fieldwork.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Verniers, Gilles (2017). Studying Indian Politics with Large-scale Data: Indian Election Data 1961–today. Studies in Indian Politics. ISSN 2321-0230. 5(2), p. 269–275. doi: 10.1177/2321023017727984. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There has been a major shift in how Indian politics is studied, as large-scale data has become easier to access and analyze. In this research note, we describe some useful techniques and tools used for creating and merging large-scale datasets. We also introduce two datasets: constituency-level datasets of Indian State Elections and General Elections from 1961 until today. We describe the process of creating these datasets, the efforts involved in cleaning the data, and how the data can be utilized. In conclusion, we offer some reflections on the limitations of over-relying on quantitative data in research on Indian politics.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Wood, Abby (2016). Caught in the Act but not Punished: on Elite Rule of Law and Deterrence. Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs. 4(2), p. 686–717. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Most literature on criminal deterrence in law, economics, and criminology assumes that people who are caught for a crime will be punished. The literature focuses on how the size of sanctions and probability of being caught affect criminal behavior. However, in many countries entire groups of people are “above the law” in the sense that they are able to evade punishment even if caught violating the law. In this paper we argue that both the perceived probability of being punished if caught and the cultural acceptance of elites evading punishment are important parts of theorizing about deterrence, particularly about corruption among political elites. Looking at data on parking violations among diplomats in New York City 1997–2002, we explore how diplomats from different rule-of-law cultures respond to sudden legal immunity. The empirical observations provide clear evidence of both the stickiness and the gradual weakening of cultural constraints.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2016). A sign of backwardness? Where dynastic leaders are elected in India. In Chandra, Kanchan (Eds.), Democratic Dynasties State, Party and Family in Contemporary Indian Politics. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781107123441. p. 83–104. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781316402221.004. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2016). Competing inequalities? On the intersection of gender and ethnicity in candidate nominations in Indian elections. Government and Opposition. ISSN 0017-257X. 51(3), p. 440–463. doi: 10.1017/gov.2016.8. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Quotas for women and ethnic minorities are implemented to increase diversity in political institutions, but, as they usually target only one group at a time, they may end up increasing the inclusion of one under-represented group at the cost of another. Recent work has emphasized the institutional underpinnings of the variation in such outcomes. In this article I show how the intersectional effects of quotas may also vary within the same institutional context, as changes in the pressure to include excluded groups interact with the informal opportunity structures within political parties. Looking at the nomination of female candidates across India over time, I show that, as the efforts to include more women in politics intensified, much of the increase in female candidates occurred in constituencies reserved for ethnic minorities. This pattern may in part be the result of parties resisting changes to existing power hierarchies by nominating women at the cost of the least powerful male politicians, but can also be seen as evidence that minority quotas have created a political space that is more accessible to women.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Bhavnani, Rikhil (2015). Socioeconomic Profile of India’s Old Electoral Constituencies, 1971-2001. In Sivaramakrishnan, K.C. & Alam, Mohd. Sanjeer (Ed.), Fixing electoral boundaries in India : Laws, processes, outcomes, and implications for political representation. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780199458448. p. 217–229. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2015). Fragmentation and decline in India's state assemblies: A review, 1967-2007. Asian Survey. ISSN 0004-4687. 55(5), p. 862–881. doi: 10.1525/AS.2015.55.5.862. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Tracing activity in 15 Indian state assemblies from 1967 to 2007, we find that overall legislative activity declined but there was also considerable variation across states. States with large electoral constituencies and politically fragmented assemblies showed the worst performance, which suggests a link between political fragmentation and institutional performance.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2015). Development from representation? A study of quotas for the scheduled castes in India. American economic journal. Applied economics. ISSN 1945-7782. 7(3), p. 196–220. doi: 10.1257/app.20140201. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper estimates the constituency-level development effects of quotas for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in India, using a unique dataset of development indicators for more than 3,100 state assembly constituencies in 15 Indian states in 1971 and 2001. Matching constituencies on pretreatment variables from 1971, I find that 30 years of quotas had no detectable constituency-level effect on overall development or redistribution to SCs. Interviews with politicians and civil servants in 2010 and 2011 suggest that these findings can be explained by the power of political parties and the electoral incentives created by the quota system.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2014). Mired in Reservations: The Path-Dependent History of Electoral Quotas in India. Journal of Asian Studies. ISSN 0021-9118. FirstView, p. 1–21. doi: 10.1017/S0021911814002162. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2014). The Fieldwork of Quantitative Data Collection. PS: Political Science and Politics. ISSN 1049-0965. 47(2), p. 402–404. doi: 10.1017/S1049096514000298. Full text in Research Archive
• Hsueh, Roselyn; Jensenius, Francesca Refsum & Newsome, Akasemi (2014). Fieldwork in Political Science: Encountering Challenges and Crafting Solutions. PS: Political Science and Politics. ISSN 1049-0965. 47(2), p. 391–393. doi: 10.1017/S1049096514000262. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2013). Was the Delimitation Commission Unfair to Muslims? Studies in Indian Politics. ISSN 2321-0230. 1(2), p. 213–229. doi: 10.1177/2321023013511625. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2012). Quotas and perceptions of political representation – A look at India. Asian Survey. ISSN 0004-4687. 52(2), p. 373–394. doi: 10.1525/as.2012.52.2.373. Full text in Research Archive
• Chhibber, Pradeep; Jensenius, Francesca Refsum & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2012). Party Organization and Party Proliferation in India, Party Politics. ISSN 1354-0688. doi: 10.1177/1354068811436059. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2011). Book Essay: Power and Influence in India. Forum for Development Studies. ISSN 0803-9410. 38(3), p. 391–398. doi: 10.1080/08039410.2011.619683. Full text in Research Archive
• Fish, Steven; Jensenius, Francesca & Michel, Katherine (2010). Islam and Large-Scale Political Violence: Is There a Connection? Comparative Political Studies. ISSN 0010-4140. 43(11), p. 1327–1362. doi: 10.1177/0010414010376912. Full text in Research Archive

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• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Social Justice through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190646615. 228 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Across the world, governments design and implement policies with the explicit goal of promoting social justice. But can such institutions change entrenched social norms? And what effects should we expect from differently designed policies? Francesca R. Jensenius' Social Justice through Inclusion is an empirically rich study of one of the most extensive electoral quota systems in the world: the reserved seats for the Scheduled Castes (SCs, the former "untouchables") in India's legislative assemblies. Combining evidence from quantitative datasets from the period 1969-2012, archival work, and in-depth interviews with politicians, civil servants, and voters across India, the book explores the long-term effects of electoral quotas for the political elite and the general population. It shows that the quota system has played an important role in reducing caste-based discrimination, particularly at the elite level. Interestingly, this is not because the system has led to more group representation - SC politicians working specifically for SC interests - but because it has made possible the creation and empowerment of a new SC elite who have gradually become integrated into mainstream politics. This is a study of India, but the findings and discussions have broader implications. Policies such as quotas are usually supported with arguments about various assumed positive long-term consequences. The nuanced discussions in this book shed light on how electoral quotas for SCs have shaped the incentives for politicians, parties, and voters, and indicate the trade-offs inherent in how such policies of group inclusion are designed.

View all works in NVA

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2026). Indisk politikk: kaste, klasse, kjønn og religion. doi: https:/www.hamar.kommune.no/kulturkalender/seniorakademiet-hamar-foredrag-om-india. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2025). Keeping women out: Incumbency and Renomination Patterns for Female Politicians in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2025). Shallow Democracy. Political Parties and the Crisis of Representation in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Baltzersen, Eli Sofie; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Skorge, Øyvind Søraas (2025). Rape legislation and gendered evaluations of non-consensual sex. Full text in Research Archive
• Baltzersen, Eli Sofie; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Skorge, Øyvind Søraas (2025). Det er lite trolig at en samtykkelov alene vil endre holdninger til sex. doi: https:/www.aftenposten.no/meninger/debatt/i/kwjq7X/at-en-samtykkelov-vil-redusere-antall-voldtekter-er-hoeyst-usikkert. Full text in Research Archive
• Ruud, Arild Engelsen; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Nielsen, Kenneth Bo (2024). India votes 2024. [Internet]. Nordic Asia podcasts. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Valgresultat i India. [TV]. NRK nyheter. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). India votes 2024. [Radio]. Nordic Asia Podcast. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Valg i India. [Radio]. Dagsnytt 18. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). CASI Election Conversations 2024: Francesca R. Jensenius on Misconceptions About the Indian Voter. [Internet]. casi.sas.upenn.edu. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Indian voters don’t care about ideology and are not particularly attached to parties. They “vote their caste” rather than cast their vote. They also rarely coordinate well in picking candidates, leading to tremendous volatility in election outcomes. Those are just some of the long-standing stereotypes that recent research on India has sought to upend. In the fifth interview of the CASI Election Conversations 2024, CASI Consulting Editor Rohan Venkat speaks to Francesca R. Jensenius (Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo) about fresh data that reveals a larger stock of "partisans" among Indian voters than was previously understood, why the massive sizes of Indian constituencies skews our understanding of voter dynamics, and what we still have to learn about how political parties mobilize voters.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). The politics of assisted reproduction. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Indisk politikk: kaste, kjønn og religion. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Selecting the “best”? Evidence from India on competing dimensions of politician quality. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Still the world’s largest democracy? India votes, 2024. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Garbo, Gro Lien (2024). Valg i India: Hvorfor ligger populisten Narendra Modi an til å vinne for tredje gang? [Radio]. Universitetsplassen. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Det er valg i India, som med sine over 1,3 milliarder innbyggere nå er verdens mest folkerike land. Alt tyder på at sittende statsminister Modi – også kalt Indias Trump – blir gjenvalgt. Hvorfor det? Hvilke konsekvenser kan det få om han fortsetter å ta India i en hindunasjonalistisk retning? Og hvorfor skal vi i Norge bry oss?

• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Garbo, Gro Lien (2024). Valg i India: Populisten Modi ser ut til å vinne for tredje gang. [Internet]. Universitetsplassen. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Det er valg i India, som med sine over 1,3 milliarder innbyggere nå er verdens mest folkerike land. Mye tyder på at sittende statsminister Modi – også kalt Indias Trump – blir gjenvalgt. Hvorfor det? Og hva står på spill?

• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Ruud, Arild Engelsen & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Hvor ble det av opposisjonen? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Valg i India: klasse, kjønn, og identitetspolitikk. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). India: et Modi(g) valg? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Haabeth, Nina (2024). Statsminister Narendra Modi fester trolig grepet om makten i India. [Internet]. TV2.no. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  India, verdens største demokrati, går til valg. Eksperter frykter at valgresultatet kan føre til at demokratiet svekkes.

• Engh, Sunniva & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Valg i India 2024. Utenrikspolitiske perspektiver. Full text in Research Archive
• Barthwal, Ankita & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2024). Partisanship’s Striking Resilience in India. In Vaishnav, Milan (Eds.), How Indian Voters Decide. Carnegie Endowment for International peace. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Despite wide vote swings and party switching from election to election, India’s 2024 contest may well be decided by the substantial segment of partisan loyalists who offer unwavering support to their parties.

• Baltzersen, Eli Sofie; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Skorge, Øyvind Søraas (2024). State Action and Moral Attitudes toward Sexual Consent: A Registered Report. Full text in Research Archive
• Baltzersen, Eli Sofie; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Skorge, Øyvind Søraas (2024). State Action and Moral Attitudes toward Sexual Consent: A Registered Report. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2023). Who becomes a local-level politician in India? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2023). Politician Quality in the Developing World: Evidence from Indian Village Councils. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Barthwal, Ankita (2023). Partisanship, contingency, and ideology in the developing world. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2023). Kvinne-kvote i den indiske nasjonalforsamlinga. [Radio]. Studio 2. Full text in Research Archive
• Baltzersen, Eli Sofie; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Skorge, Øyvind Søraas (2023). State Action and Moral Attitudes on Sexual Consent (Registered Report). Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2023). Electoral Importance and the News Market: Novel Data and Quasi-Experimental Evidence from India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2023). Partisanship in Developing Democracies: Experimental Evidence from India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Alam, Sanjeer (2022). Coordination failures and the challenge of constructing a majority in Indian elections. Full text in Research Archive
• chaudhuri, ananish; Iversen, Vegard; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Maitra, Pushkar (2022). Time in office and gender gap in dishonesty: Evidence from local politics. Ideas for India. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Existing literature associates a higher share of women in politics with lower corruption; honesty is viewed as an inherent or static character trait. However, using information collected from 400 elected gram panchayat members in West Bengal, this study finds that spending time in office changes this – inexperienced women politicians are less likely to be dishonest than men, but this ‘gender gap’ disappears among experienced politicians. The study attributes this to reduced risk aversion and stronger political networks with experience.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2022). Panel debate on experiences studying South Asia. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Cage, Julia & Cassan, Guilhem (2022). Electoral Importance and Media Consumption: Quasi-experimental Evidence and New Data from India. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How important are political determinants for the news media market in developing democracies? In this paper, we investigate the effect of electoral incentives on the supply and consumption of news media in India. To do so, we build an original panel dataset of newspapers at the administrative district level between 2002 and 2017, covering $48,456$ newspaper-district observations. We exploit the 2008 Delimitation -- an exogenous change to the boundaries of electoral constituencies across the country -- to causally identify the relationship between the electoral importance of districts and the number and circulation of newspapers in those districts. Using a staggered difference-in-differences approach, we show that districts had similar media trends prior to the announcement of the new delimitation whether or not they became more electorally important as a result of the Delimitation, but that constituencies that became more electorally important experienced a significant rise in their total newspaper circulation per capita after the delimitation was implemented. We demonstrate that the observed changes seem to be driven by altered supply rather than demand, show heterogeneous patterns in the results, and discuss implications for voting behavior and democratic accountability.

• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Cage, Julia & Cassan, Guilhem (2022). Electoral Importance and Media Consumption: Quasi-experimental Evidence and New Data from India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2022). Privileging One's Own? Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2022). Privileging One's Own? Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2022). Gender and corruption in South Asia. Full text in Research Archive
• Chhibber, Pradeep; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Ostermann, Susan (2021). India’s ‘missing girls’: Women’s education and declining child sex-ratios. Ideas for India. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Although women’s education has been proposed as a solution to the persistent issue of ‘missing girls’ in India, studies have reached contradictory conclusions on the impact of female education on child sex ratios. Drawing on sub-district-level Census data from 2001 and 2011, this article shows that mothers with more education have fewer daughters – but these girls are also more likely to survive.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Time in Office and the Changing Gender Gap in Dishonesty: Evidence from Local Politics in India. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Increasing the share of women in politics is often touted as a means of reducing corruption. In this study, we focus on dishonesty among elected male and female representatives, and how this changes with time in office. We combine survey data on attitudes towards corruption with data from incentivized experiments. Our sample consists of 400 inexperienced and experienced local politicians in West Bengal, India. While we find little evidence of a gender gap in the attitudes of inexperienced politicians, experienced female politicians exhibit a stronger distaste for corruption. However, this apparent hardening in attitudes among female politicians also coincides with more dishonest behavior in our experiments. Exploring mechanisms that can explain this difference, we find it to be strongly associated with higher risk aversion and weaker political networks at the start of their career. Our study indicates that gender gaps in politics should be theorized as dynamic and changing, rather than static.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Time in Office and the Changing Gender Gap in Dishonesty: Evidence from Local Politics in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Violence Against Women Legislation and Changes in Social Norms in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  While a significant amount of research has examined the conditions giving rise to legal and policy reform on violence against women (VAW), there is less understanding of how much and in what ways VAW laws have affected society. Many observers lament the weak enforcement of VAW legislation, while others are skeptical that new laws on violence---and other rights enacted by consolidating democracies---are changing social relations in intended ways. In this paper, we argue that even weakly enforced laws can contribute to positive social change. We theorize the expressive power of VAW legislation, and present evidence for a cautiously optimistic assessment of current trends on violence against women and the ways that VAW laws affect social norms. Focusing on a major legal change in Mexico in 2007, we explore over-time changes in behavior and attitudes related to violence by analyzing four waves of the national survey on the Dynamics of Household Relations (ENDIREH, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2016), which includes detailed interviews with hundreds of thousands of Mexican women. We find that over this period, the share of women experiencing intimate partner abuse declined, attitudes condoning violence shifted, reporting rates rose, and more women know about legislation to protect their rights. These changes indicate the emergence of new social norms and are consistent with our expectations about the expressive power of anti-violence legislation.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Effects of quotas in Indian politics. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  One doesn't get far in Indian politics before one hears the term "reservations," which refers to the reserved positions in politics, educational institutions, and jobs. India is interesting because it is the country with the largest and longest-standing political quota system in the world. What have been the effects after decades of political inclusion?

• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Comparative Analysis for Theory Development. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  What does it mean to advance women's status and well-being? And how should we think about the role of the state in bringing about that advancement? Our work analyzes the approach and role of the state in promoting women's empowerment, drawing on large-N country-level data and in-depth case studies of state action in United States, Norway, and Japan. Our three country cases vary greatly in terms of the state's approach to women's rights; we picked them because we believe them to be extreme examples of how state action is driven by different visions of what women's empowerment is about. Conducting fieldwork in these different contexts allowsus to study some of the variation in people's views of both state action and empowerment. It sharpens our awareness of important assumptions that underlie studies of empowerment. It also helps us determine the right questions to ask. To the extent that we study causal relationships, we do so based on large-N data within cases, not across them. And rather than assume that the same causal patterns apply across cases, we draw on our fieldwork to better understand why the same policies produce vastly different effects in different contexts. This paper is a reflection on some of the goals of comparative studies that are unrelated to drawing causal inferences, and how to think about research design and case selection to achieve these goals.

• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Expressive Power of Anti-Violence Legislation: Changes in Social Norms on Violence Against Women in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  While a significant amount of research has examined the conditions giving rise to legal and policy reform on violence against women (VAW), there is less understanding of whether or not new VAW laws have been accompanied by changes in behavior and attitudes. Has the adoption of VAW legislation—a huge priority of feminist movements since the 1970s—produced social change? This seminar will present evidence for a cautiously optimistic assessment of the power of VAW laws to alter social norms, based on analysis of four waves of survey data from Mexico.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). The role of reservations in Indian politics. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  One doesn't get far in Indian politics before one hears the term "reservations," which refers to the reserved positions in politics, educational institutions, and jobs. In this seminar we will discuss the historical background, institutional structure, and effect of the different types of reservation policies in India.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Time in Office and the Changing Gender Gap in Dishonesty: Evidence from Local Politics in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Caste, Occupation and Electoral Stability In India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2021). Time in Office and the Changing Gender Gap in Dishonesty: Evidence from Local Politics in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2020). Ethnic Inequality, Strong Parties, and Electoral Stability. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2020). Can the State Stop Sex Discrimination? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2020). Party System Institutionalization and Economic Voting: Evidence from India. Full text in Research Archive
• Sollund, Sigrid & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). Dagsnytt 18. [Radio]. NRK. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Htun, Mala (2020). Can the State Stop Violence against Women? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2020). Party System Institutionalization and Economic Voting: Evidence from India. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). Comparative Perspectives on the Caregiving Crisis, Welfare States, and Men’s Roles. Comparative Politics Newsletter. 30(2). Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). Family Law and Women’s Economic Empowerment. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). Competing trends in women’s rights in Myanmar. PK Forum. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In the 2010s, the Myanmar government made moves to comply with international obligations on women’s rights. The government launched a strategic plan for women’s advancement, reformed some laws, and collaborated with civil society organizations to draft legislation to combat gender and sexual violence. What are the prospects for gender equality in Myanmar? Our research explores public attitudes toward women’s roles in order to shed light on this question. Our analysis shows that Burmese people tend to hold conservative views about women’s roles.

• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). Violence Against Women Legislation and Changes in Social Norms in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). Can the State Stop Sex Discrimination? Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2020). The news media’s reporting on a pandemic spike in violence against women. It might actually be declining. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Violence against women grows from a larger cultural context, not just temporary circumstances like the covid-19 pandemic. In most places, feminist activists have succeeded in changing laws and social norms to reduce violence.

• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). Valg i India: Få bastioner og mange svingninger. Asiapunkt. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). Valg i India: en representasjonskrise? Asiapunkt. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). Valg i India: Utdanning, urbanisering og valgdeltakelse. Asiapunkt. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). Hvem dominerer Indias nasjonale valg? Asiapunkt. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). Valg i India: Lokale valg topper statistikken. Asiapunkt. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). Valg i India: Legitimitet og ansvarlighet i kompetitive valg. Asiapunkt. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Violence Against Women as a Violation of Human Rights: Legal Change and Social Norms in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Implementing the Rights Revolution: Sexual Assault and Harassment Training on College Campuses. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala; Jensenius, Francesca Refsum & Tønnessen, Liv (2019). Introduction to Special Issue of Social Politics: Legal Regimes, Women’s Work, and Women’s Empowerment. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society. ISSN 1072-4745. 26(2), p. 189–192. doi: 10.1093/sp/jxz026. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The second-wave feminist movement called attention to the endurance of discriminatory laws that deny women equal rights and opportunities. Since the 1970s, most countries around the world responded to feminist demands and reformed family law, labor law, reproductive rights, national constitutions, and the welfare state. Yet almost nowhere do women enjoy the same status, power, and opportunities as men, and differences among women along the lines of class, racial identity, and region are pronounced. Why does the gap between women’s de jure and de facto status persist? Is there any connection between egalitarian laws and women’s agency on the ground? Which groups of women have benefited the most from the expansion of formal rights? What cultural practices and norms are most resistant to change? Are there unexpected, subtle, or contradictory ways in which legal change has shaped women’s work and women’s empowerment? The five papers in this Special Issue look at these questions in contexts from Sudan to Norway.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Women and minorities in the Lok Sabha: Intersectionality in the Indian elections. Asia Dialogue. Full text in Research Archive
• Flåten, Lars Tore; Ruud, Arild Engelsen; Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Samuelsen, Guro Warhuus & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Indisk spenning. Full text in Research Archive
• Flåten, Lars Tore; Ruud, Arild Engelsen; Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Samuelsen, Guro Warhuus (2019). Modi er kommet for å bli. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Urix. [TV]. NRK. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2019). Study shows Indian politicians are spending less and less time in legislative assemblies. ThePrint. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). NRK, nyhetsmorgen. [Radio]. NRK. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Fem ukers kø ved valgurnene. [Journal]. Klassekampen. Full text in Research Archive
• Flåten, Lars Tore; Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Jensenius, Francesca R.; Frøystad, Hanne Kathinka & Ruud, Arild Engelsen (2019). Valgvake - valget i India. Full text in Research Archive
• Flåten, Lars Tore; Ruud, Arild Engelsen; Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Samuelsen, Guro Warhuus & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Er valget i India slutten på dynastiet? Full text in Research Archive
• Flåten, Lars Tore; Samuelsen, Guro Warhuus; Ruud, Arild Engelsen; Nielsen, Kenneth Bo & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Hindunasjonalistisk parti går mot valgseier. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Her bryter to kvinner en eldgammel hindu-tradisjon. Det har kastet India ut i politisk kaos. [Journal]. Aftenposten. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Krig og fred. [Radio]. NRK radio. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). EKKO. [Radio]. NRK radio. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). NRK nyhetsmorgen. [Radio]. NRK radio. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). This data shows why Indian MPs don’t truly represent their people. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). India: Verdens største demokratiske valg. [Internet]. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2019). Social Justice through Inclusion: Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2019). Privileging One’s Own: Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). It’s a myth that 2014 election was exceptional in the vote share of winning candidates. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). Political parties dominate India’s national elections, not candidates. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Htun, Mala (2019). Legal Regimes, Social Norms, and Gender Equality, in Myanmar. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Myanmar’s return to competitive elections after decades of military rule raised expectations for progress in economic and social development, including in the area of women’s rights. But in fact, the most significant legislation passed has restricted, rather than expanded, women’s liberal rights. Meanwhile, public opinion surveys reveal that most Burmese continue to hold men in higher esteem than women, to prefer boy children, and to believe that men are more capable leaders. This paper analyzes women’s uneven legal rights and the endurance of traditional social norms in Myanmar, drawing on observations from fieldwork and two representative national surveys. We show that traditional and anti-democratic values are widespread, and that views on gender are closely connected to adherens to such values. People who believe in hierarchical author- ity are also more likely to value boys over girls and to believe men are better leaders than women. Myanmar’s experiences show that the emergence of electoral democracy does not necessarily generate gender equality. Since political freedom expands the space for civic mobilization, including for traditional and conservative groups, it can produce greater contestation about the meaning and significance of gender and of women’s roles in society.

• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). 3 charts challenge lazy thinking on voter turnout and its link to literacy & urbanisation. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). Why voters don’t turn up in larger numbers in Lok Sabha elections – all politics is local. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Shah, Harsh (2019). There are very few BJP strongholds or Congress bastions in India. Data shows why. Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Samuelsen, Guro Warhuus; Jensenius, Francesca & Flåten, Lars Tore (2019). Demokrati eller autokrati i India? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Contreras, Carlos; Htun, Mala; Dominguez, Melanie Sayuri & Tinkler, Justine (2018). Effects of Sexual Misconduct Training on University Campuses. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Alam, Sanjeer (2018). Privileging one's own? Voting patterns and politicized spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2018). Electoral quotas in India: what the data show. [Journal]. The Indian Express. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India, by Francesca R Jensenius, a political scientist at the University of Oslo, looks at how electoral representation for Dalits through reservation has played out since 1952.

• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Alam, Sanjeer (2018). The Nils Klim symposium Constructing a majority: A micro-level study of voting patterns in Indian elections. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Indian elections are known to be highly fractionalized and volatile, but also for having semi-authoritarian pockets where the same person or family controls the vote election after election. In their forthcoming book, Francesca R. Jensenius, Pradeep Chhibber, and Sanjeer Alam draw on polling-booth level data from across India to explore when and why we see such different voting patterns at the local level in India. They argue that the provision of public goods and the presence of the state tempers political fragmentation and semi-authoritarian local politics.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2018). Social Justice through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala; Contreras, Carlos; Dominguez, Melanie Sayuri; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Tinkler, Justine (2018). Effects of Sexual Assault Training on University Campuses. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2018). Comparison and Theory Development: Lessons from a Study of Women’s Empowerment. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Alam, Sanjeer (2018). Constructing a majority: A micro-level study of voting patterns in Indian elections. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2018). The Politics of Inclusion: Electoral Quotas in India. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Electoral quotas have played an important role in Indian politics for the past century. Many groups have demanded and still demand quotas, often on the basis of arguments that quotas are needed to bring “their” perspectives into politics – that a guaranteed political presence will result in better representation of their group’s interests. In the book Social Justice through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India (OUP 2017), Francesca R. Jensenius provided evidence of the long-term effects of electoral quotas for one of India’s most marginalized communities, the Scheduled Castes (the former “untouchables”). Drawing on extensive qualitative and quantitative data she showed that the quotas to a limited extent have contributed to the mobilization around, and representation of, group interests for SCs, but that they have played in important role in breaking social boundaries by integrating SCs into the mainstream political elite. What are the implications of these findings for the discussion of other groups’ demands for quotas in India? In this seminar, Jensenius will present key findings in the book and discuss some of the implications these findings have for the debates about quotas for other communities in India – including the so-called Other Backward Classes, women and religious communities. Jensenius’ keynote will be followed by presentations by Pradeep Chhibber Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Anne Waldrop, as well as a panel discussion.

• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2018). Privileging one’s own? Voting patterns and politicized spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2018). Ekko: kvoteringsforskeren. [Radio]. NRK. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2018). Nils Klim samtalen. [TV]. NRK Kunnskapskanalen (vist på NRK 2). Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Alexander Refsum; Bjerkestrand, Kari Anne Vadstensvik; Johnson, Victoria; Sanchez, Victor Evaristo Gonzalez; Zelechowska, Agata & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2018). Sverm-Pluck. Full text in Research Archive
• Vidal, Carlos Alberto Contreras; Htun, Mala; Jensenius, Francesca R.; Sonntag, Melanie & Tinkler, Justine (2018). Effects of Mandatory Universal Sexual Misconduct Training at UNM. Full text in Research Archive
• Vidal, Carlos Alberto Contreras; Htun, Mala; Jensenius, Francesca R.; Sonntag, Melanie sayuri & Tinkler, Justine (2018). Effects of Grey Area Training on Rape Myths and Gender Stereotypes at UNM. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2018). Privileging One's Own? Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Alam, Sanjeer (2018). Constructing a majority: A micro-level study of voting patterns in Indian elections. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2018). Privileging One's Own? Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Chhibber, Pradeep & Alam, Sanjeer (2018). Constructing a majority: A micro-level study of voting patterns in Indian elections. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Three Worlds of Women’s Rights. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Three Worlds of Women’s Rights. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Likestillingsparadokset. [Internet]. http://www.nupi.no/. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Women's Rights in Theory and Practice: Status Politics and Violence against Women in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). State Policy and Women’s Economic Agency in Japan, the U.S., and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Aspirational Laws as Weak Institutions: Legislation to Combat Violence Against Women in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Social Justice through Inclusion: Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Chhibber, Pradeep & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Privileging One's Own? Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala & Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Discovering the Right Questions by Comparing Extremes: Women’s Empowerment in the United States, Norway, and Japan. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). The Impact of Affirmative Action in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2017). Party-candidate Linkages and Anti-Incumbency Voting: Evidence from Indian States. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Political Quotas for Disadvantaged Groups: Lessons from India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2017). Party-candidate linkages and Anti-Incumbency Voting: Evidence from the Indian States. Full text in Research Archive
• Htun, Mala; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Sonntag, Melanie (2017). Social Policy, Norms of Work and Family, and Masculinity in Japan. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Social Justice through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Social Justice through Inclusion: Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Can quotas lead to social justice? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2017). Affirmative Action Policies in Government. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2016). Electoral Quotas as a Tool for Fighting Exclusion and Discrimination. India in Transition. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2016). Caste quotas in politics and development outcomes. Ideas for India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2016). The inclusive effects of electoral quotas. The Hindu Business Line. ISSN 0971-7528. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2016). Privileging one's own? Voting patterns and politicized spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Htun, Mala (2016). Institutionalizing Gender Equality: Anti-discrimination Laws and Social Norms in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2016). Privileging one's own? Voting patterns and politicized spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Htun, Mala (2016). Violence Against Women as a Violation of Human Rights? Legal Power and the Resilience of Social Norms in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2016). Privileging one's own? Voting patterns and politicized spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2016). Social Justice through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2016). Can Electoral Quotas Advance Social Justice – and How Do We Know? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2016). When Women Run: New Perspectives on Gender and Political Recruitment. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Htun, Mala (2016). Violence Against Women as an Aspirational Right: Legal Power and the Resilience of Social Norms in Mexico. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2016). Voting Behavior in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Suryanarayan, Pavithra (2015). Party-Candidate Linkages and Electoral Instability. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2015). Kinship in Indian Politics: Dynasties, nepotism and fictive families. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2015). Privileging one's own? Voting patterns and politicized spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2015). Privileging one's own? Voting patterns and politicized spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2015). Privileging One's Own? Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R.; Heierstad, Geir & Nielsen, Kenneth Bo (2015). Luften som dreper. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2015). Party-candidate linkages and Party Institutionalization in the Indian States. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Bajoghli, Sæba (2015). To menn pågrepet etter voldtekt av jente (4) i India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2015). Party Organizations and Party-Candidate Linkages: Theory and Evidence from India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Chhibber, Pradeep (2015). Privileging One's Own: Voting Patterns and Politicized Spending in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2015). Party-candidate linkages and Party Institutionalization in the Indian States. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Framstad, Anders Park (2014). Regjeringsskifte i India: - Klart positivt på sikt. [Internet]. e24. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Aase, Kari Aarstad (2014). Fattiggutten som blir Indias nye statsminister. [Journal]. VG. Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Flåten, Lars Tore; Heierstad, Geir & Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2014). Nye valgvinder i India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. & Samuelsen, Reidun J. (2014). Et eksplosivt kjærlighetskyss. [Journal]. Aftenposten. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2014). Consequences of Representation: Electoral Quotas for India's Ex-untouchables. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca R. (2014). Hvor går verdens største demokrati nå? Den norske Atlanterhavskomité - internett-tekster. ISSN 1502-5373. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Development from Representation? A Study of Quotas for Scheduled Castes in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2014). India: Growth and redistribution in the world's largest democracy. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Delimited out of sight? Electoral incentives and public goods in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Valg 2014: et nytt India? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Women, Power and Politics: Barriers to Female Candidates in Indian Elections. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca; Chhibber, Pradeep & Verma, Anil Kumar (2014). Representing the underdogs: A survey experiment about representation in India. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Women, Power and Politics: Barriers to Female Candidates in Indian Elections. Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Flåten, Lars Tore; Heierstad, Geir & Jensenius, Francesca (2014). India-Norges framtid. Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Flåten, Lars Tore; Heierstad, Geir & Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Hvem kan danne regjering i India? Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Flåten, Lars Tore; Heierstad, Geir; Jensenius, Francesca & Jakobsen, Jostein (2014). Truende Maoister. 62(17). Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Flåten, Lars Tore; Heierstad, Geir & Jensenius, Francesca (2014). En splittende valgkandidat. Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Flåten, Lars Tore; Heierstad, Geir & Jensenius, Francesca (2014). India's tredje front. 62(15). Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Heierstad, Geir; Flåten, Lars Tore & Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Kraftig omveltning. 62(19). Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Flåten, Lars Tore; Heierstad, Geir & Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Masken av. 62(13). Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Flåten, Lars Tore; Heierstad, Geir & Jensenius, Francesca (2014). Partiet uten leder. 62(11). Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2013). Virker politisk kvotering? Aftenposten Viten. ISSN 2464-3033. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca (2011). Intricacies of Empowerment. The Book Review. 35(3), p. 59–60. Full text in Research Archive
• Drange, Bård; Binningsbø, Helga Malmin; Jensenius, Francesca Refsum; Strand, Håvard & Krause, Jana (2023). Colombia’s relentless pursuit of justice: Wartime abuses, dynamics of violence, and justice outcomes. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive
• Mitra, Anirban; Jensenius, Francesca R. & Kotsadam, Andreas (2015). Do Parties Matter at the Sub-district Level of Politics? Evidence from Tehsils in Andhra Pradesh. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Francesca Refsum (2013). Power, Performance and Bias: Evaluating the Electoral Quotas for Scheduled Castes in India. ProQuest. Full text in Research Archive

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