Accommodation of Democracy - A New Political Economy of Poverty Alleviation in Rural India

In The Accommodation of Democracy, Thibaud Marcesse documents the implementation of the world's largest publics works program--called the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme or NREGS--in India's most populated state, Uttar Pradesh. Marshaling a mix of qualitative and quantitative data, he provides insights not just into the way social benefits are delivered to the rural poor in India but also how local democratic institutions work to either facilitate or constrain the delivery of these benefits. He further discusses the ways in which corruption shapes political relationships, particularly between government bureaucrats and local elected officials.

List of contents

• List of Figures


• List of Tables


• Acknowledgements


• Acronyms


• Chapter 1: Introduction: How Meaningful has India's Democratic Deepening been?


• Chapter 2: A Theory of Democratic Accommodation


• Chapter 3: The Terrain of Local Level Democratization in Rural Uttar Pradesh


• Chapter 4: How a Democratic Deepening Shapes Program Outcomes


• Chapter 5: Patronage Guaranteed? Partisanship and Program Outcomes


• Chapter 6: Party-Voter Linkages and Political Alignment


• Chapter 7: Accommodating Democracy: Rent Seeking as a Political Strategy


• Chapter 8: Conclusion


• Appendix One: Data Sources and Datasets


• Appendix Two: Democratization and program outcomes (Chapter 3)


• Appendix Three: Partisanship and Program Outcomes (Chapter 4)


• Appendix Four: Partisan Alignment and Program Outcomes (Chapter 5)


• Bibliography


• Index

About the author

Thibaud Marcesse is an Assistant Professor of Comparative and South Asian Politics at Boston College. His main research interests lie in the political economy of development, political institutions such as parties and party systems, and local level democratization. Prior to joining Boston College, he was a lecturer at Kings' College in London. Before starting a career in academia, he worked for various organizations such the United Nations Children's Fund, the National Democratic Institute and Chemonics International on different projects ranging from civic education in Nepal and support to transitions in both Nepal and Haiti. His research has appeared in World Development.

Product details

• Authors: Thibaud Marcesse, Thibaud (Assistant Professor of Comparat Marcesse, Thibauld Marcesse, Thibauld (Assistant Professor of Compara Marcesse
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 31.10.2025, delayed
• EAN: 9780197813157
• ISBN: 978-0-19-781315-7
• No. of pages: 376
• Series: Modern South Asia
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Asia, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Economy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Democracy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Comparative Politics, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Asian, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Rural, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Developing & Emerging Countries, Developing Countries, Comparative Politics, Development Studies, Development economics & emerging economies, Development economics and emerging economies, Global South / Developing countries, Political structures / systems: democracy, Rural communities / rural life