An ambassador against hate

Kunaal Sharma’s work outfit rarely features the bright white shirt and light-grey trousers that he is wearing for our interview. Although his work as a political scientist at ETH’s Institute for International Conflict Research might sound like a desk job, he actually conducts a lot of research in the field – working with Islamic clerics at mosques in India, for example, or in Nairobi’s Eastleigh district, known as a hotbed of extremism. In locations such as these, Sharma explores the causes of Islamic extremism and searches for ways out of the cycle of hatred and violence. “I want to find out why religion leads to intolerant and extremist behaviour, and how religion could instead help to prevent conflicts.”

Conducting field research inconspicuously

In his fieldwork, the researcher first attempts to understand the situation on the ground, to get to know the people, and to move around as discreetly as possible out in the field. This helps to build trust and also protects him against attacks or even kidnappings – after all, conducting research in potential trouble spots is not entirely without its dangers. “I’m aware of the risks,” says this 29-year-old American of Indian ancestry. Sharma prepares painstakingly for each and every trip. He often has to travel to the countries time and time again to hold talks with influential community members and train local assistants before he can begin the actual research.

His work focuses on South Asia, with particular attention to India. Here, his own ethnic origins allow him to blend in at first glance. He also speaks Urdu, Hindi, and is conversant in Persian. Even in Kenya, where he has projects underway, the fact that Nairobi has a large community of Indian immigrants affords him a certain degree of protection, he says. “As long as I don’t open my mouth and I’m travelling with locals, no one notices that I’m American.”

Messages act as a bridge

The strongest public impact so far had a study on the refugee crisis in the disaster-stricken border area between Syria and Turkey. In collaboration with Egor Lazarev, Sharma carried out research into how to reduce rejection of Syrian refugees among Turks and how to boost their willingness to help them.

To this end, the two academics first formulated a variety of messages emphasising the common ground between the two peoples and stating the financial implications for Turkey of providing aid to refugees. The researchers then presented various groups of Turks with a different selection of these messages. In a subsequent questionnaire, they could see which messages had which effect.

Sharma explains the result as follows: “The shared cultural background and the fact that both Syrians and Turks are Sunni Muslims represent the key arguments for building tolerance and understanding towards the refugees.”

For him personally the most important finding he has uncovered, was part of his dissertation research on extremism among Sunni and Shia Muslims in northern India. That research was conducted in Lucknow, the capital of India’s most populous state. Kunaal wanted to find out how pro-peace messaging by religious clerics affects extremism among Muslim youth.

For his research he convinced local clerics to record audio messages that advocated peace toward the outgroup. He then randomly assigned 2,100 Sunni and Shia young adult men to listen to a message either from their group’s cleric, the other group’s cleric, both clerics, or neither (the control group). The striking result: The Sunni cleric’s message significantly changed extremist behaviours for Sunni youth, but the Shia cleric’s message did not have any effect on Shia youth. “Coming from a stronger position the Sunni were willing to listen to pro-peace messages, while the victimized Shia’s attitude could not be influenced”, explains the scientist.

Successful application for ETH Fellowship

In order to continue his research into religion’s role in sparking conflicts, he successfully applied for an ETH Fellowship grant in 2017. “As an ETH Fellow, I enjoy access to excellent financial support for a period of two years, as well as the opportunity to work with ETH Professor Lars-Erik Cedermann, a leading expert on ethnic conflict.” Cedermann’s research focuses in particular on patterns of civil war across countries. This, Sharma says, is an excellent complement to his own focus on groups and individuals.

In general, Sharma found the move to Zurich an easy step. “I was in Oxford for a year during my bachelor’s. In graduate school, many of my closest friends were European,” says Sharma, who was born in Long Island, New York, and is the second of three brothers. In addition to his openness to other cultures, he is characterised by a clear sense of vision and conscientiousness. “I come from a family that in many ways fits the stereotype of a hard-working, Indian-American family,” he says, outlining the various stages of his professional life on the board in his office.

Changing society through research

At school, he showed a talent for natural sciences, but was also a successful member of the debating society and enjoyed dealing with social issues. For a long time, therefore, he was undecided as to whether to study medicine, law or politics. Affected by the protests against the Iraq War in the 2000s, he ultimately opted to study political sciences.

Sharma, who takes a moderate and secular approach to practising his faith as a Hindu, wanted to understand the causes of Islamic extremism. “I was interested in the connections between religion and terror because they divide societies and inflict great suffering on innocent people.” He became interested in the practical side of this research through several work placements in Washington, DC. Today, Sharma is often invited to present his research to policy officials and consult with various organizations to study how to reduce violent extremism. He seeks to apply well-founded research findings to help bring about change in society.

Making a contribution to society

“An important motivation for my research is to do work that can have practical benefits for security in the United States and abroad,” he explains. “By engaging in politics and conflict research, I hoped to help broaden the contributions of Indian Americans beyond the medical and science professions.”

He wants to improve security in America, and around the world, through his research. Sharma therefore spent two years working at the American “Council on Foreign Relations” think tank, which specialises in foreign policy issues, before beginning his Ph.D. program in 2012.

In the future, he wants to pursue an academic career. However, he is not satisfied with research and lectures alone. If he doesn’t achieve a professorship, he can also imagine going back to work for a think tank or an NGO. Only one thing is certain: he will take the same structured approach as in the past, shaping his life choices just as he outlined on the board in his office.