India as a ‘crypto-ethnic democracy’
The dynamics of ‘control’ in relation to peripheral ethnic minorities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11186342 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jugdep S Chima (Hiram College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | 2822-2840 |
| Publication date | 2021-12-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Third World Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0143-6597 • E-ISSN: 1360-2241 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01436597.2021.1976632 |
| OpenAlex | W3202167417 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 34 |
What type of democracy is multi-ethnic India, and how has it maintained territorial unity since Independence? I argue that India is best coded as a ‘crypto-ethnic democracy’, in contrast to traditional ‘consensual’ and ‘consociational’ interpretations, specifically in relation to its peripheral religious/ethnic minority groups. This argument is demonstrated through three interrelated themes: (1) nation/state-building, legitimating ideology and nationality construction; (2) ethnofederalism, regional political parties and ethnic peace accords; and (3) national security legislation, human rights and state-sponsored pogroms. The new conceptual formulation of ‘crypto-ethnic democracy’ integrates ‘control’ with both ‘consensus’ and ‘consociationalism’ within democracy. ‘Crypto-ethnic democracy’ also adds to existing typologies of multi-ethnic democracies, including differentiating the de facto dynamics of ‘control’ from the de jure institutions identified in traditional models of ‘ethnic democracy’. It is argued that the concept of ‘crypto-ethnic democracy’ has significant conceptual and comparative value for scholars
Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Ethnic group · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · South Asian Studies and Diaspora
In the Name of the Nation
Democracy in Plural Societies
Crafting State-Nations
The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India
Autonomy and the territorial management of ethnic conflicts in Northeast India
State Security and Elite Capture
Institutional Attempts to Build a “National” Identity in India
Constitutional Centring
The limits of India’s ethno-linguistic federation
The predicament of justice
Post-conflict justice in divided democracies
India, Consociational Theory, and Ethnic Violence
Indian Secularism and Its Critics
How do western democracies cope with the challenge of societal diversity
Boundary mechanisms and symbolic resources
Types of democracy and modes of conflict management in ethnically divided societies
Toward a Hindu State
The Troublesome Security State
The Rational Politics of Cultural Nationalism
Power‐Sharing in the World's Largest Democracy
Understanding 'ethnocratic' regimes
Consociational Democracy
Stability in Deeply Divided Societies
United in Diversity? Asymmetry in Indian Federalism
Ethnicity' and politics in India
The Politics of Indian Secularism
Secularism in Its Place
Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics
The Puzzle of Indian Democracy
Minority status in an ethnic democracy
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1.33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |