Anticorruption politics versus democratic deepening and welfare in India

Amit Ahuja; Adnan Naseemullah; Susan Ostermann

doi:10.1525/as.2021.1422538

Anticorruption politics versus democratic deepening and welfare in India

Amit Ahuja, Adnan Naseemullah, Susan Ostermann

War Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Eliminating corruption is seen as a practice that supports democratic governance. We argue, however, that particular anticorruption politics in contemporary India can damage the project of democratic deepening, because elites often deploy these politics against the representation of the marginalized. Anticorruption politics can subvert democratic deepening by challenging as corrupt the means by which the parties of the marginalized mobilize resources to compete in elections and by selectively targeting lower-caste political leaders for indictment on corruption charges within an overall discriminatory politics of deservedness. Anticorruption governance by parties in power seriously hinders the provision of welfare to the poor because of the technocratic and centralizing character of the governance reforms. We argue overall that while corruption is indeed damaging to democracy, elite anticorruption politics can also represent a significant barrier to democratic deepening and welfare.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	825-853
Number of pages	29
Journal	Asian Survey
Volume	61
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2021.1422538
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2021

Keywords

Corruption
Democracy
Governance
India

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10.1525/as.2021.1422538

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abstract = "Eliminating corruption is seen as a practice that supports democratic governance. We argue, however, that particular anticorruption politics in contemporary India can damage the project of democratic deepening, because elites often deploy these politics against the representation of the marginalized. Anticorruption politics can subvert democratic deepening by challenging as corrupt the means by which the parties of the marginalized mobilize resources to compete in elections and by selectively targeting lower-caste political leaders for indictment on corruption charges within an overall discriminatory politics of deservedness. Anticorruption governance by parties in power seriously hinders the provision of welfare to the poor because of the technocratic and centralizing character of the governance reforms. We argue overall that while corruption is indeed damaging to democracy, elite anticorruption politics can also represent a significant barrier to democratic deepening and welfare.",

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note = "Funding Information: By contrast, elite parties are ideologically driven, financially backed, and electorally supported by the upper social strata of society. The policy agenda of these parties is mostly representative of these strata (Thachil 2014). The BJP is the most salient example of an elite party, one which achieved unrivaled power in national politics in the 2014 and 2019 elections. Historically, the Svatantra (Independence) Party was a prominent historical example. Elite parties enjoy the support of dominant castes and are connected to affluent social networks, including those of national business communities. They thus receive much of the resources available for election finance. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.",

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N2 - Eliminating corruption is seen as a practice that supports democratic governance. We argue, however, that particular anticorruption politics in contemporary India can damage the project of democratic deepening, because elites often deploy these politics against the representation of the marginalized. Anticorruption politics can subvert democratic deepening by challenging as corrupt the means by which the parties of the marginalized mobilize resources to compete in elections and by selectively targeting lower-caste political leaders for indictment on corruption charges within an overall discriminatory politics of deservedness. Anticorruption governance by parties in power seriously hinders the provision of welfare to the poor because of the technocratic and centralizing character of the governance reforms. We argue overall that while corruption is indeed damaging to democracy, elite anticorruption politics can also represent a significant barrier to democratic deepening and welfare.

AB - Eliminating corruption is seen as a practice that supports democratic governance. We argue, however, that particular anticorruption politics in contemporary India can damage the project of democratic deepening, because elites often deploy these politics against the representation of the marginalized. Anticorruption politics can subvert democratic deepening by challenging as corrupt the means by which the parties of the marginalized mobilize resources to compete in elections and by selectively targeting lower-caste political leaders for indictment on corruption charges within an overall discriminatory politics of deservedness. Anticorruption governance by parties in power seriously hinders the provision of welfare to the poor because of the technocratic and centralizing character of the governance reforms. We argue overall that while corruption is indeed damaging to democracy, elite anticorruption politics can also represent a significant barrier to democratic deepening and welfare.

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Anticorruption politics versus democratic deepening and welfare in India

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Keywords

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