Degrees of Democracy

Some Comparative Lessons from India

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6410797
AutoresPatrick Heller (0000-0001-6548-0576, Brown University, autor correspondente)
Ano2000
Volume52
Fascículo4
Páginas484-519
Data de publicação2000-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoWorld Politics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0043-8871 • E-ISSN: 1086-3338
EditoraProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/s0043887100020086
OpenAlexW2099410089
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas131
Referências citadas61

This article draws on the case of India to address the question of democratization by exploring the dynamic interplay of the formal, effective, and substantive dimensions of democracy. Fifty-three years of almost uninterrupted democratic rule in India have done little to reduce the political, social, and economic marginalization of India's popular classes. Within India the state of Kerala stands out as an exception. Democratic institutions have effectively managed social conflict and have also helped secure substantive gains for subordinate classes. Kerala's departure from the national trajectory is located in historical patterns of social mobilization that coalesced around lower-class interests and produced forms of state-society engagement conducive to democratic deepening. Contrary to much of the transition literature, this case suggests that high levels of mobilization and redistributive demands have democracy-enhancing effects

Democracy · Democratization · Development economics · Economics · Mobilization · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America · Social and Economic Development in India