Document Library

Participation, Social Interaction, and the Quality of Democracy in India

Author: H Blomkvist
Date: 2003
Size: 29 pages (310 KB)

Access document Access full text: available online

Summary

Is government responsiveness to citizen’s demands affected by different types of political participation? Is responsiveness affected by social interaction and does it depend on historically evolved political structures? This paper from Uppsala University, Sweden draws on evidence gathered from 3,200 personal interviews with citizens in five Indian states; Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala and West Bengal in exploring these questions.

To measure government responsiveness, ‘incidence of poverty’ is used as an indicator. Of the five states looked at, the worst situation was found in Orissa, where 77 per cent lived below the poverty line. Kerala was seen as the best performer when it came to the ability of the state to eradicate poverty. With a criteria of poverty reduction, the paper asks whether individual voter capacities and collective capacities matter, apart from the party and Chief Minister they have elected?

Differences in poverty alleviation were found between the states of Kerala and West Bengal despite the similarities of their political regimes and parties in power. The explanation can be found in strong differences between the two states in terms of political mobilisation, civil society and social capital. It is true that Kerala has a population that is highly mobilised, politically conscious and aware but West Bengal does not. The study found:

  • Three times as many people in Kerala compared to West Bengal were ‘activists’; they had taken part in one or two political activities in the last five years.
  • More than four times as many people in West Bengal than Kerala had been totally politically inactive.
  • An impressive 97 per cent of people in Kerala could give the correct name of the Chief Minister in the state whereas 79 per cent knew his name in West Bengal.
  • Every day 87 per cent of citizens of Kerala read the news in a paper and 79 per cent listen to the news on the radio, corresponding figures for West Bengal were just 36 and 24 per cent.

The concept of social capital within Keralan and West Bengali societies was looked at to explain this difference in ‘politicisation’. The study found:

  • The size and intensity of networks affect people’s propensity to take part in politics and in protest mobilisation.
  • Kerala had the most homogenous spread of identities; for example religious, language and caste identities, the fragmentation of identities in West Bengal was much stronger thus contributing to the lower rate of political participation in West Bengal.
  • The formal democratic liberties and opportunities provided by decentralised government in India are filled and fulfilled to very different degrees, however political participation, social capital and a vibrant civil society affects the responsiveness of a democratically elected government.
  • In states with very similar political regimes, relationships between, and activities of, ordinary citizens make a difference to the quality of democracy.

Access document Access full text: available online

Source: Blomkvist, H., 2003, ‘Participation, Social Interaction, and the Quality of Democracy in India’, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the The American Political Science Association Philadelphia Mariott Hotel, Philadelphia, PA
Author: Department of Government, Uppsala University, http://www.statsvet.uu.se


 

© 2012 University of Birmingham. Some portions © other authors. enquiries@gsdrc.org www.gsdrc.org       Feedback : Disclaimer