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The Puzzle of Indian Politics: Social Cleavages and the Indian Party System

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  • Chhibber, Pradeep K.
  • Petrocik, John R.

Abstract

The social cleavage theory of parly systems has provided a major framework for the study of Western party systems. It has been quite unimportant in studying other party systems, especially those of developing countries, where comparative development, and not mass electoral politics, has been the focus of study. This article reports the results of an attempt to bridge these traditions by analysing popular support for the Congress Party of India in terms of the expectations of the social cleavage theory of parties. This analysis illustrates the degree to which Indian partisanship conforms to the expectations of the theory. More importantly, this social cleavage theory analysis offers some new perspectives on (1) the inability of the Indian political system to develop national parties other than the Congress and (2) the ‘disaggregation’ of the Congress party.

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  • Chhibber, Pradeep K. & Petrocik, John R., 1989. "The Puzzle of Indian Politics: Social Cleavages and the Indian Party System," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 191-210, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:19:y:1989:i:02:p:191-210_00
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    Cited by:

    1. J. Stephen Ferris & Bharatee Bhusana Dash, 2023. "On the structure of the political party system in Indian states, 1957–2018," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 1-35, March.
    2. Khemani, Stuti, 2003. "Partisan politics and intergovernmental transfers in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3016, The World Bank.
    3. Khemani, Stuti, 2007. "Does delegation of fiscal policy to an independent agency make a difference? Evidence from intergovernmental transfers in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 464-484, March.

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