Overview

When Rebels Become Stakeholders: Democracy, Agency and Social Change in India explores the agency of ordinary men and women in the making of democratic social change in India. The study is specific to India, but the issues that it examines are of wider significance. The authors join the debate on democracy and development on the basis of case studies that showcase the opinions and attitudes of the Indian voter. They assert that mass perception of institutions, policies and processes—so often dismissed as mere false consciousness or as the conditioned reflex of a gullible public, manipulated by the rhetoric of populist politicians—is our only window to the inner dynamics of democracy and social change. The authors have used the public opinion data from three national surveys of the Indian electorate held in 1971, 1996 and 2004 to focus on the political understanding of India’s voters and their leaders. While agency is a much-discussed theme in contemporary social sciences, connecting the rationality of ordinary men and women to explain electoral participation and rapid structural change in the lives of people of this country is specific to this study. This book argues that the cohabitation of democracy and social change in India is not merely incidental or coincidental; rather the two are institutionally linked in a manner that is fundamentally causal, to the extent that the weakening of the one renders the other ineffective. This book would be of interest to researchers and scholars of political science, international relations, democracy, Indian politics, political analysts, sociology, development studies, journalism, comparative politics and public administration.

Full Product Details

Author:   Subrata K Mitra ,  V B Singh
Publisher:   SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
Imprint:   SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 13.90cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 21.50cm
Weight:   0.510kg
ISBN:  

9788178299457

ISBN 10:   8178299453
Pages:   340
Publication Date:   16 April 2009
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Preface Introduction: Democracy and the Puzzle of Orderly Social Change The Context of Social Change: Interfacing Society and State in India Continuity and Change in Indian Politics: An Inter-generational Analysis The Elements of Political Agency and the Limits of Consensus Political Competition, Social Cleavages and Institutionalisation of the Party System Re-inventing the Nation: The Dialectics of Nation and Region in India Poverty, Welfare and Social Opportunity in India Building Social Capital from Above and Below: Locality, Region and Trust in India India at Sixty: Social Change and the Resilience of Democracy Beyond India: Democracy and Social Change in Comparative Perspective Appendices Bibliography Index

Reviews

It is a stimulating work, quantitatively ambitious, and at the same time attempting to accommodate space for the opinions and values of ordinary people. -- South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal The authors must get full marks for trying their best for a remarkably comprehensive exposition of the complexity of Indian democracy from the CSDS survey findings. -- The Businessworld The book is a celebration of political skills of India's voters and their leadership..... Thematically, this book is, perhaps, the first of its kind and that adds to its significance as well as importance, especially for students of Indian democracy and of comparative politics. -- Business India Opinions, attitudes and values of ordinary people form the basis of this book. When Rebels Become Stake Holders has been written keeping in mind the students of Indian democracy, as also of comparative politics. This book will be of interest to researchers and scholars of political science, international relations, democracy, Indian politics, political analysis, sociology, development studies, journalism, comparative politics and public administration. -- Development Alternatives When Rebels Become Stakeholders explores the agency of ordinary men and women in the making of democratic and orderly social change in India...Drawing on the rich empirical base of the national surveys, the volume provides the missing links in terms of the casual link that 'transforms rebels into stakeholders'. -- The Book Review

It is a stimulating work, quantitatively ambitious, and at the same time attempting to accommodate space for the opinions and values of ordinary people. -- South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal The authors must get full marks for trying their best for a remarkably comprehensive exposition of the complexity of Indian democracy from the CSDS survey findings. -- The Businessworld The book is a celebration of political skills of India's voters and their leadership... Thematically, this book is, perhaps, the first of its kind and that adds to its significance as well as importance, especially for students of Indian democracy and of comparative politics. -- Business India Opinions, attitudes and values of ordinary people form the basis of this book. When Rebels Become Stake Holders has been written keeping in mind the students of Indian democracy, as also of comparative politics. This book will be of interest to researchers and scholars of political science, international relations, democracy, Indian politics, political analysis, sociology, development studies, journalism, comparative politics and public administration. -- Development Alternatives When Rebels Become Stakeholders explores the agency of ordinary men and women in the making of democratic and orderly social change in India...Drawing on the rich empirical base of the national surveys, the volume provides the missing links in terms of the casual link that 'transforms rebels into stakeholders'. -- The Book Review

When Rebels Become Stakeholders explores the agency of ordinary men and women in the making of democratic and orderly social change in India...Drawing on the rich empirical base of the national surveys, the volume provides the missing links in terms of the casual link that `transforms rebels into stakeholders'. -- The Book Review Opinions, attitudes and values of ordinary people form the basis of this book. When Rebels Become Stake Holders has been written keeping in mind the students of Indian democracy, as also of comparative politics. This book will be of interest to researchers and scholars of political science, international relations, democracy, Indian politics, political analysis, sociology, development studies, journalism, comparative politics and public administration. -- Development Alternatives The book is a celebration of political skills of India's voters and their leadership..... Thematically, this book is, perhaps, the first of its kind and that adds to its significance as well as importance, especially for students of Indian democracy and of comparative politics. -- Business India The authors must get full marks for trying their best for a remarkably comprehensive exposition of the complexity of Indian democracy from the CSDS survey findings. -- The Businessworld It is a stimulating work, quantitatively ambitious, and at the same time attempting to accommodate space for the opinions and values of ordinary people. -- South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal

It is a stimulating work, quantitatively ambitious, and at the same time attempting to accommodate space for the opinions and values of ordinary people. -- South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal The authors must get full marks for trying their best for a remarkably comprehensive exposition of the complexity of Indian democracy from the CSDS survey findings. -- The Businessworld The book is a celebration of political skills of India’s voters and their leadership….. Thematically, this book is, perhaps, the first of its kind and that adds to its significance as well as importance, especially for students of Indian democracy and of comparative politics. -- Business India Opinions, attitudes and values of ordinary people form the basis of this book. When Rebels Become Stake Holders has been written keeping in mind the students of Indian democracy, as also of comparative politics. This book will be of interest to researchers and scholars of political science, international relations, democracy, Indian politics, political analysis, sociology, development studies, journalism, comparative politics and public administration. -- Development Alternatives When Rebels Become Stakeholders explores the agency of ordinary men and women in the making of democratic and orderly social change in India…Drawing on the rich empirical base of the national surveys, the volume provides the missing links in terms of the casual link that ‘transforms rebels into stakeholders’. -- The Book Review

Author Information

Subrata K Mitra was trained as a political scientist at the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, both in India, as well as at the University of Rochester, New York, USA. He is currently Professor and Head, Department of Political Science at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University and was the coordinator, Area A (Governance and Administration), Cluster of Excellence—Asia and Europe in a Global Context: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows (2008–2010). His publications include The Puzzle of India’s Governance: Culture, Context and Comparative Theory (2005) and When Rebels become Stakeholders (2009). He is the academic editor of Advances in South Asian Studies, Heidelberg Series in South Asian and Comparative Studies and editor of Critical Issues in the Modern Politics of South Asia (2009). V B Singh is Honorary Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi. His published works include Profiles of Political Elites in India and Elections in India: Data Handbook on Lok Sabha Elections 1986–91 (1984); Hindu Nationalists in India: The Rise of BJP (1994 and 1995); and Elections in India: Data Handbook on Vidhan Sabha Elections, 1952–85 (Five volumes) (1994). He has been the Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies from 1997 to 2002.

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