Party System In India

Party systems have important political, social, and economic consequences in a polity. This book analyses the characteristics, evolution, and determinants of party system in India. Through a combination of examining theoretical explanations and interpreting empirical data, this short introduction facilitates a clear comprehension of the various phases of the Indian party system, from Congress' dominance to the fragmentation of the party system, the emergence of regional parties and coalition politics, and more recently a move towards a BJP-centred party system. It argues that the party system in India continues to be shaped by a complex interaction of sociological, institutional, and contextual factors. By situating the Indian party system in the context of these determinants, this book also attempts to provide a framework for comparative analysis of party systems. It highlights that both national and regional parties remain crucial parts of the party system given India's sociocultural diversity, and politics that continues to be coalitional. Outlining the key challenges facing parties in India, the book nevertheless reinforces the argument that a competitive party system is key to the functioning of Indian democracy, and the parties remain the most important link between the state and its citizens.

India’s party system has been under flux, transformation and reconfiguration since the end of the 1980s. By the time the sun set on the twentieth century, the party system in India had developed a plurality of national and regional levels and following several experiences in fits and starts, coalition making among the parties too stabilized at the national level. The dawn of twenty first century thus witnessed a federalized party system in place, where coalition making and cohabitation amongst the parties stabilized at both national and regional levels. As a result, since 1999 India has had two completing governments completing their full term at the national level; the third, UPA II, has completed four years, and despite hiccups is likely to complete its full term till mid-2013. However, the party system in the country has turned competitive and several trajectories of alternation are being attempted by parties and leaders, making the emerging political situation fluid. The volume attempts to capture the emerging trajectories of the party system in India in the second decade of the twenty first century with seventeen essays written specially for this volume by scholars who met several times to discuss and formulate questions and critique each other’s drafts. Overall, the volume provides an incisive and comprehensive analysis of the far-reaching changes that India’s political parties and party system are undergoing. It looks into the institutional dimensions, processes and agenda, federal manifestations, transitions (including generational change) and extraneous influences brought in by globalization, Indian Diaspora and the impact of new media technology. Constituting an important contribution to the on-going debate on the Indian party system, this volume will attract the attention of students of Indian politics, political science, democracy, party systems and comparative politics.

Indian party politics, commonly viewed as chaotic, clientelistic, and corrupt, is nevertheless a model for deepening democracy and accommodating diversity. Historically, though, observers have argued that Indian politics is non-ideological in nature. In contrast, Pradeep Chhibber and Rahul Verma contend that the Western European paradigm of "ideology" is not applicable to many contemporary multiethnic countries. In these more diverse states, the most important ideological debates center on statism-the extent to which the state should dominate and regulate society-and recognition-whether and how the state should accommodate various marginalized groups and protect minority rights from majorities. Using survey data from the Indian National Election Studies and evidence from the Constituent Assembly debates, they show how education, the media, and religious practice transmit the competing ideas that lie at the heart of ideological debates in India.

A major study of India's developing party system. The author, who spent 18 months in India, employs a series of party case studies to assess India’s chances at building a stable political framework. Originally published in 1957. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This volume attempts to capture the emerging trajectories of the party system in India in the second decade of the twenty-first century with seventeen essays written specially for this volume by scholars who met several times to discuss and formulate questions and critique each other's drafts. Overall, the book provides an incisive and comprehensive analysis of the far-reaching changes that India's political parties and party system are undergoing. It looks into the institutional dimensions, processes and agenda, federal manifestations, transitions (including generational change), and extraneous influences brought in by globalization, Indian diaspora, and the impact of new media technology. Constituting an important contribution to the ongoing debate on the Indian party system, this book will attract the attention of students of Indian politics, political science, democracy, party systems, and comparative politics.

This comprehensive textbook outlines and illuminates the main theories of political parties and party systems. Applying these theoretical approaches to British party politics, Moshe Maor covers all the key subjects of study including: * classification of party definitions * party systems change * party institutionalization * cohesion and dissent * intraparty conflicts and ligislative bargaining * multiparty electoral competition Maor's study highlights the importance of the intraparty arena and actors in understanding the shape and behaviour of political parties, pr.

This is the Oxford India Paperback of a very successful hardback published in 2002. The volume brings together essays on wide ranging issues that impinge on political parties and the challenges confronting the party system in India. Presents an overall picture of the origins, evolution and transformation of party politics post-independence.

Today, regional parties in India win nearly as many votes as national parties. In Why Regional Parties?, Professor Adam Ziegfeld questions the conventional wisdom that regional parties in India are electorally successful because they harness popular grievances and benefit from strong regional identities. He draws on a wide range of quantitative and qualitative evidence from over eighteen months of field research to demonstrate that regional parties are, in actuality, successful because they represent expedient options for office-seeking politicians. By focusing on clientelism, coalition government, and state-level factional alignments, Ziegfeld explains why politicians in India find membership in a regional party appealing. He therefore accounts for the remarkable success of India's regional parties and, in doing so, outlines how party systems take root and evolve in democracies where patronage, vote buying, and machine politics are common.