Why Regional Parties? - Clientelism, Elites, and the Indian Party System

The first major study of India's regional parties which discusses why, when, and where they are electorally successful.

List of contents

1. Introduction; 2. Definitions and description - regional political parties in India; 3. Theory - clientelism, elites, and regional parties; 4. Evidence - elites and regional party success in India; 5. Cross-national variation - clientelism and institutions; 6. India's successful regional parties - the costs of building national parties; 7. Longitudinal variation in India - coalition government and the rise of regional parties; 8. Subnational variation in India - factional sorting and elite divisions; 9. Conclusion.

About the author

Adam Ziegfeld is the International Council Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the George Washington University, Washington DC. His research explores electoral and party politics, particularly India. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and previously held postdoctoral positions at the University of Oxford and the University of Chicago.

Summary

In Why Regional Parties?, Ziegfeld demonstrates that regional parties in India are successful because they represent expedient options for office-seeking politicians. By focusing on clientelism, coalition government, and state-level factional alignments, he explains why politicians find membership in a regional party appealing.

Product details

• Authors: Adam Ziegfeld, Adam (George Washington University Ziegfeld, Ziegfeld Adam
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 29.02.2016
• EAN: 9781107118683
• ISBN: 978-1-107-11868-3
• No. of pages: 310
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Political Parties, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Parties, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Affairs & Administration, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Asian, India, Political parties and party platforms, Regional, state and other local government, Regional government