Democratization from above : the logic of local democracy in the developing world / Anjali Thomas Bohlken, University of British Columbia.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bohlken, Anjali Thomas, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--Developing countries.

Democracy.

Democratization--Developing countries.

Democratization.

Local government--Developing countries.

Local government.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 288 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Democratization from Above seeks to explain why some national and state governments in the developing world introduce reforms to make local governance more democratic while others neglect or actively undermine democracy at local levels of government. The study challenges conventional wisdom that local democratization is implemented as a means of granting more autonomy to local actors. Instead, Anjali Bohlken argues that local democratization offers higher level government elites who lack control over party organizational networks an alternative means of increasing the effectiveness of local intermediaries on whom these elites rely to mobilize political support. The book starts with a focus on India and uses original data, and a combination of qualitative and quantitative evidence, to show support for the argument. The study then relies on an original cross-national dataset to show how the argument helps explain the variation in the implementation of local democratization reforms across the developing world.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title page; Title page; Copyright page; Dedication; Contents; List of Figures; List of Tables; Acknowledgments; 1 The Puzzle of ""Democratization from Above''; 2 The Strategic Logic of Local Democratization; 3 Local Intermediaries, Local Democratization, and Political Party Organizations in India; 4 ""Constitutionalizing'' Local Democracy: Explaining the 1993 National Constitutional Amendments; 5 Intra-party Competition and Local Democracy in the Indian States: A Statistical Analysis; 6 Intra-party Competition and Local Governance Reform in Kerala and Tamil Nadu

7 Local Politicians as Intermediaries: The Effect of Village-Level Politicians on State-Level Elections8 The Logic of Local Democratization across the DevelopingWorld; 9 Implications of ""Democratization from Above''; 10 Data Appendix: Dataset on Local Democratization Reforms in the Developing World; Bibliography; Index; 1.1 Definition of Local Democratization; 1.2 Common View 1: Local Democratization as an Extension of National Democratization; 1.3 Common View 2: Local Democratization as a Form of Decentralization; 1.4 The Logic of Local Democratization - A Sketch of theArgument

1.5 The Puzzle of Local Democratization in India1.6 Overview of the Book; 2.1 Local Democratization as a Solution to an Information Problem; 2.2 Other Decision-Makers beyond the Chief Executive; 2.3 Factors Shaping the Competition within the Party; 2.4 Additional Implications of the Theory; 2.5 Conclusion and Scope Conditions; 2.6 Appendix; 3.1 A Primer on the Indian Political Context; 3.2 The Importance of Local Intermediaries in India; 3.3 Governmental and Organizational Power within IndianParties; 3.4 Governmental Discretion over State Resources

3.5 State's Discretion in the Implementation of LocalDemocratization3.6 Conclusion; 4.1 Background to the 1993 Constitutional Amendments; 4.2 Explaining the 1993 Constitutional Amendments: A Comparative Approach; 4.3 Explaining the 1993 Constitutional Amendments: The Logic of Process Tracing; 4.4 Alternative Explanations; 4.5 Conclusion; 5.1 Definition and Operationalization; 5.2 Evidence; 5.3 Conclusion; 6.1 Explaining Variation across Cases; 6.2 Within-Case Analyses; 6.3 Conclusion; 7.1 Local Politicians as Vote Mobilizers for Higher-LevelPoliticians; 7.2 Grassroots Institutions in Kerala

7.3 Data7.4 Methodology; 7.5 Results; 7.6 Alternative Explanations; 7.7 Conclusion; 7.8 Appendix; 8.1 Intra-party Competition and Local DemocratizationReforms; 8.2 Local Democratization Reforms in Authoritarian Regimes; 8.3 Conclusion; 9.1 Democracy, Decentralization, and Path-Dependence - The Conventional Wisdom; 9.2 Policy Implications

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 01 Jan 2016).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-46156-4

1-316-46390-7

1-316-46429-6

1-316-46585-3

1-316-46468-7

1-316-46663-9

1-316-41565-1