Dignifying development: Democratic deepening in an Indian State with Indrajit Roy

Описание: The Global Development Institute Lecture Series is pleased to present Dr Indrajit Roy, Department of Politics, the University of York to discuss "Dignifying development: Democratic deepening in an Indian State."

The lecture draws on Indrajit’s prior work on poor people’s negotiations with democratic institutions and public policy as well as their ideas about citizenship and membership in its political community. It also signals his future research plans of investigating the intersections of democracy and development in the Rising Powers and other emerging markets.

The lecture is a contribution to emerging perspectives on factors that deepen democracy. Against arguments that emphasise the role of economic development, elite bargains and cultural modernisation, Indrajit urges us to take seriously the role of the politics of dignity in democratic deepening. Drawing on the case of the eastern Indian State of Bihar, he directs attention to the ways in which political mobilisation of ethnic identities- underpinned by narratives of dignity espoused by members of oppressed social groups- enable democratic deepening in an economically and socially hostile climate. The causal analysis offered in this paper pluralises the class-centred account of social forces originally developed by Barrington Moore Jr (1966).

The Global Development Lecture Series brings experts involved in global development to The University of Manchester. It aims to facilitate dialogue and discussion, providing a space for leading development thinkers to share their latest research and ideas.