Why Ethnic Parties Succeed: Patronage and Ethnic Head Counts in India (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) - Hardcover

Chandra, Kanchan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521814529 ISBN 13: 9780521814522

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2004

Synopsis

Drawing on a study of variation in the performance of four ethnic parties in India, this book develops a theory of ethnic party performance in "patronage democracies"--a family of democracies with distinct patterns of political behavior as well as a new interpretation of Indian democracy. Demonstrating the connection between India's state-dominated economy and the behavior of its voters and politicians, it includes an extensive study of the Bahujan Samaj Party and contemporary ethnic politics in India.

About this title

Book Description

Why do some ethnic parties succeed in attracting the support of their target ethnic group while others fail? Drawing on a study of variation in the performance of four ethnic parties in India, this book develops a theory of ethnic party performance in "patronage democracies"--a family of democracies with distinct patterns of political behavior. The book offers an original theory on the performance of ethnic political parties as well as a new interpretation of Indian democracy. Demonstrating the connection between India's state-dominated economy and the behavior of its voters and politician, it includes an extensive study of the Bahujan Samaj Party and contemporary ethnic politics in India.

Review

"In explaining why some ethnic parties succeed while others fail, Kanchan Chandra makes an important contribution to our understanding of ethnicity in politics. By highlighting the interaction of group size and internal party rules in a context characterized by the kind of information constraints inherent in patronage democracies, she provides a novel microfoundation for ethnic politics in competitive democracies. In addition, her book sets a new benchmark on how to combine abstract thinking and rich analysis." Stathis N. Kalyvas, Yale University

"Kanchan Chandra is one of the brightest lights in the new generation of political scholars of India. Chandra's contribution to ethnic studies is her challenge to the pessimistic premise advanced by leading scholars of ethnic politics that ethnic solidarities, unlike class and interest groups, are incompatible with and destructive of democratic processes. In her view competition among ethnic communities can lead to centrism and democratic survival rather than extremism and democratic destruction. She argues her case in game theoretic form while showing a good feel for the nitty gritty of Indian electoral settings." Susanne Hoeber Rudolph, University of Chicago

"I strongly endorse Chandra's elegant and lucid analysis of India's ethnic political parties. The effective and effortless confluence of area studies and middle range political theory is one of the finest I have seen in recent years." APSA Perspectives on Politics, Subrata K. Mitra

"To make her case, Chandra skillfully utilizes a plurality of methods...The result is an exemplary analytical narrative; she combines methodological prowess with an ability to tell poignant stories of real actors whose behavior exemplifies the underlying principles of her theory." The Review of Politics, Robert Hislope

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0521814529
• ISBN 13: 9780521814522
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 368