Comparing Brokers in India

Informal Networks and Access to Public Services in Bihar and Gujarat

Bibliographic Data

ID3986487
AuthorsWard Berenschot (0000-0002-5459-0785, Royal Netherlands Institute for Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV), Leiden, Netherlands, corresponding author), Sarthak Bagchi (0000-0003-3910-4643, Ahmedabad University)
Year2020
Volume50
Issue3
Pages457-477
Publication date2020-05-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00472336.2019.1605535
OpenAlexW2943182345
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited43

Faced with unresponsive and intimidating state institutions, citizens often need to rely on brokers to obtain state benefits. This article compares the ways in which brokers help people gain access to public services in two Indian states. Using ethnographic fieldwork in both states, we compare Bihar and Gujarat to argue that the evolution of the informal networks through which citizens gain access to public services constitutes an important dimension of democratisation processes. In both Gujarat and Bihar such brokerage networks have fragmented considerably over the last 40 years, while also becoming less marked by social hierarchies. This change has taken place despite a differing role and strength of political parties in the two states. The fragmentation and levelling of brokerage networks have enabled citizens to put more pressure on state institutions and power holders. This process of "informal democratisation" suggests that the comparative study of brokerage networks constitutes a promising and largely unexplored avenue to interpret the challenges facing governance and local democracy in India

Business · Clientelism · Corporate governance · Democracy · Democratization · Economic growth · Economics · Local governance · Local government · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Politics and Society in Latin America · Public Administration · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

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