Walter K. Andersen
Political analyst
Walter K. Andersen is an American academic known for his studies of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian Hindutva paramilitary organization. He currently serves as Senior Adjunct Professor of South Asia Studies at Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and is a part of the faculty of Tongji University, Shanghai (China). Previously, he taught comparative politics at the College of Wooster before joining the United States State Department as a political analyst for South Asia specializing in India and Indian Ocean affairs. Additionally, he was an adjunct professor at The American University in Washington, D.C.
Education
Andersen earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago. As a part of his field work, he lived in India for four years from late 1960s through early 1970s. There he came in contact with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP; the student wing of the RSS). That association led to an introduction to M. S. Golwalker, the-then head of the RSS. Anderson's scholarship has focused on the RSS and Indian politics. He considers Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph as his mentors.
Scholarship of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Andersen, with Sridhar D. Damle, co-authored the 1987 book The Brotherhood in Saffron: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Revivalism. The book has been called an authoritative, detailed examination of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), including its early growth in the pre-independence period, its organization, the function of its various officers and the evolution of its ideology.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Walter K. Andersen” is political analyst. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Walter, Andersen and Political, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “political analyst” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7965302. VIAF identifies the subject as 246455933. The Library of Congress control number is n85137966. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1987.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Walter K. Andersen”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Walter K. Andersen primary sources, Walter K. Andersen archive and Walter research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Walter K. Andersen”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Walter K. Andersen” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.