2023-24 Traveling Fellow
A Changing Landscape: How Politics and Culture Shape Environmental Activism

Abhinav is exploring how environmental activists adapt to different political systems and cultural norms. In our interconnected world, it is important to understand how people advocate for change, not just in secular democracies, but in religious communities, monarchies, and linguistically diverse regions. Environmental movements stand out as a great way to study these differences because environmental issues see no national boundaries. Droughts afflict Israel and Saudi Arabia equally, deforestation in Brazil indirectly affects Egypt’s climate, and air pollution in India becomes Pakistan’s problem. By connecting with environmental groups around the world, he plans to compare the strategies activists use to overcome different political and social obstacles in different countries. He is also interested in examining how the public and government respond to increasingly disruptive tactics activists employ. 

Does guerilla activism increase support for movements or polarize the public? How has technology helped activists circumvent restrictions on protest and free speech? How does the meaning of the term “activist” change depending on context?

Abhinav plans to speak with researchers, lawyers, community organizers, policymakers, and just regular people to understand what we miss about activism.

Hometown: Bengaluru, India
Majors/Minors: Political Science and Economics/Spanish

You can read more about Abhinav’s journey through his newsletter:

Abhinav Krishnan (he/him) was born in Mountain View, California and raised just a few blocks away from the Apple campus in Cupertino, California where he spent hours buried in books ranging from Greek mythology to modern warfare. He, his sister, and parents relocated to Bangalore, India shortly before high school, and the four years he spent in international school classrooms and Model UN conferences played a large part in shaping his worldview. 

At Vanderbilt, Abhinav — who majored in political science and economics with a minor in Spanish — intended on pursuing a career in policy research and quickly became involved in research labs on campus. He simultaneously discovered his interest in audio journalism his sophomore year, which he nurtured through College Voices — a short-form investigative podcast about untold stories from college students. Over the next four years, Abhinav dedicated himself to student media, attending professional conferences, training budding audio journalists, and serving on the Vanderbilt Student Communications Board of Directors. Simultaneously, through internships in research and data analytics, he developed a robust understanding of research methodology and a large technical skillset. His interests in data and journalism finally converged the summer after graduating when he was selected by the Dow Jones News Fund to work as a data reporter for USA Today’s Investigations team, where he supported investigations and analyzed state legislation.

Abhinav has been recognized as a Bayless Fellow and awarded the John T. and Lizzie Allen Upper-class McGill Award for his contributions to student media at Vanderbilt. His podcast has also been recognized nationally by the Associated College Press, College Media Association, and Society for Professional Journalists.

When he isn’t analyzing data or writing articles, he can be found studying culinary science, running outside, browsing a used bookstore, or laughing at a local comedy club. He fell in love with solo travel and language learning during trips to Spain and Costa Rica in college and is excited to start traveling again in September 2023.