15083
Proseminar
WiSe 21/22: (GEND) Indian Democracy, Religious Nationalism and Public Policy
Kirsten Jörgensen
Comments
India’s democracy, commonly referred to as the world’s largest democracy, is a fascinating field in the study of comparative politics. It is multifaceted, contradictory and diverse. Identities - religious, ethnic and linguistic diversity - have always mattered in shaping India’s democracy, causing conflict, providing balance and drawing the boundaries of India’s subnational states. In recent years, Hindu nationalist populism has gained strength, challenging the secularist principle incorporated in India’s constitution. The rise of populism and simultaneous attempts toward authoritarianism have influenced and empowered some actors and social groups while constraining others. We will study how religious nationalism and authoritarianism affect public policy and development in India.
India has one of the fastest growing economies. However, despite relatively high growth rates and progress in poverty eradication, social and gender inequality, demand for urban and rural infrastructures and high levels of environmental pollution prevail. India moves up and down in the Human Development Index and has so far not been able to leapfrog to a significantly better ranking. Since independence in 1947 and even more significantly after India’s economic liberalization in 1990, different governing parties and coalitions have each pursued rapid economic development. India’s democratic institutions are contested. The Democracy Report 2021 (University of Gothenburg: V-Dem Institute) argued that India has become an ‘electoral autocracy’ in 2019. In this Proseminar, we will examine the relevant literature and learn how scholars conceptualize and understand India’s democratic institutions and religious nationalism, and see how they analyse the practical institutional impacts on public policy-making in India. We will consider a variety of public policy areas, among them, social and gender inequality, citizenship, environmental pollution, urbanisation and foreign policy.
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16 Class schedule
Regular appointments
Tue, 2021-10-19 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2021-10-26 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2021-11-02 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2021-11-09 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2021-11-16 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2021-11-23 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2021-11-30 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2021-12-07 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2021-12-14 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2022-01-04 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2022-01-11 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2022-01-18 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2022-01-25 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2022-02-01 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2022-02-08 16:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2022-02-15 16:00 - 18:00