The State of India's Democracy

by Sumit Ganguly, Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner

Overview

The newest volume in the acclaimed Journal of Democracy series examines the state of India’s democracy. As India marks its sixtieth year of independence, it has become an ever more important object of study for scholars of comparative democracy. It has long stood out as a remarkable exception to theories holding that low levels of economic development and high levels of social diversity pose formidable obstacles to the successful establishment and maintenance of democratic government.

In recent decades, India has proven itself capable not only of preserving democracy, but of deepening and broadening it by moving to a more inclusive brand of politics. Political participation has widened, electoral alternation has intensified, and civil society has pressed more vigorously for institutional reforms and greater government accountability. Yet political scientists still have not devoted to this country, which contains more than one-sixth of the world’s population, the kind of attention that it warrants. The essays in The State of India's Democracy focus on India’s economy, society, and politics, providing illuminating insights into the past accomplishments—and continuing challenges—of Indian democracy.

Contributors: Rajat Ganguly, M. V. Rajeev Gowda, Christophe Jaffrelot, Niraja Gopal Jayal, Rob Jenkins, Sunila S. Kale, Pratap Mehta, Subrata K. Mitra, Aseema Sinha, E. Sridharan, Praveen Swami, Arvind Verma, Steven I. Wilkinson.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801887918
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	09/10/2007
Series:	A Journal of Democracy Book
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Larry Diamond is coeditor of the Journal of Democracy, codirector of the International Forum for Democratic Studies, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Marc F. Plattner is vice president for research and studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. Plattner and Diamond are coeditors of the Journal of Democracy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I: Politics
Chapter 1. Parties and the Party System, 1947–2006
Chapter 2. Reading the Election Results
Chapter 3. Democracy and Ethnic Conflict
Chapter 4. Caste and the Rise of Marginalized Groups
Part II: The State
Chapter 5. Federalism's Success
Chapter 6. The Rise of Judicial Sovereignty
Chapter 7. Police Agencies and Coercive Power
Part III: Society
Chapter 8. The Role of Civil Society
Chapter 9. Civil Society versus Corruption
Chapter 10. Breaking News: The Media Revolution
Part IV: The Economy
Chapter 11. Economic Growth and Political Accommodation
Chapter 12. The State of the States
Index

Editorial Reviews

This excellent collection of essays will be of great interest to India specialists and scholars concerned with democratic development.
—Choice

This work . . . provide[s] an accessible and authoritative framework for debate on the country's future.
—William Crawley, Asian Affairs

From the Publisher

"This excellent collection of essays will be of great interest to India specialists and scholars concerned with democratic development."

Choice

This work... provide[s] an accessible and authoritative framework for debate on the country's future.

— William Crawley

Asian Affairs

This work . . . provide[s] an accessible and authoritative framework for debate on the country's future.

Asian Affairs - William Crawley