Resumo de Democratic Politics And Reforms In India

Political theorists have argued that in democracies special
interest groups hinder reform ? so why and how has liberal economic reform in
India persisted through the 1990s, especially in the context of Rajiv Gandhi''s
failed attempts at reform in the late 80s? In Democratic Politics and
Economic Reform in India Rob Jenkins rethinks the relationship between
economic liberalisation and democracy, and the role of civil society and
Political institutions. It is a fairly solid study, but I found it interesting
for its insights into Indian politics as well as for its theoretical argument.

Jenkins first sketches a history of Indian economic reform since 1991 and
surveys theoretical perspectives on democracy and economic reform. Against
claims that coalitions of vested interests and lobby groups prevent change in
democracies and that transparent processes and good sales pitches by
governments are important, he argues quite the converse that the fragmentation
of power groups and multiple sources of influence allow skillful politicians to
carry out reform by stealth. He also makes some comparisons with China and Mexico.

This is given substance in three chapters. The first looks at the
motivations of Indian political and economic elites and their perception of
threats and opportunities. Not only does liberalisation leave many traditional
sources of patronage untouched, but it creates new ones; and individuals and
interest groups are likely to believe (often correctly) that they can adapt and
build new coalitions in response to a changing environment. The second looks at
the role of political institutions, in particular the federal structure and
state-center relations and inter-state rivalries. Also important are informal
institutions such as party-affiliated political networks. The third ventures
into the debate about political skills, arguing that much change is carried out
by stealth, with politicians making changes while claiming continuity, or
maintaining reforms while pretending to be unwinding them.

I have one concern with the theoretical argument of Democratic Politics
and Economic Reform. Jenkins writes at one point that the argument of this
book is that democracies can uproot interest-group coalitions to promote
change, not that market relations will characterize all aspects of
economic life, but the assumption throughout is that change means economic
liberalisation. Many of the forces pushing liberalisation ? such as
transnational corporations, foreign governments, and multilateral organizations
? are backstage in Jenkins'' analysis, but it seems likely their absence (or
even opposition) would make other kinds of change a radically different
proposition.

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