This book examines certain changes in the political make-up of Karnataka, between the early 1970s and the late 1980s, which, in turn, led to the birth of a unique democracy in the state. In a departure from most studies on political science and political history which pay little or no attention to the role of politicians and focus only on technocratic blueprints, administrative processes and incentive systems, this volume takes into account the role politicians play in shaping the character of their governments, public policy and state-society relations. It studies the political transformation of Karnataka by focusing heavily on three chief ministers of the state who played an important role in making politics in Karnataka more accommodative, enlightened and, hence, more democratic. This volume is a detailed insider's account of the political processes in Karnataka, enriched with interviews and surveys which seek to locate this work in the social science literature, in Karnataka's recent history and in comparative context alongside other Indian states.

Providing a thorough reassessment of our understanding of politics in Third World societies, this book contains some of the liveliest and most original analyses to have been published in recent years. The severity of the political and economic crisis throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America in the 1980s has highlighted the inadequacy of existing political science theories and the urgent need to provide new paradigms for the 1990s.

This book examines certain changes in the political make-up of Karnataka, between the early 1970s and the late 1980s, which, in turn, led to the birth of a unique democracy in the state.

In a departure from most studies on political science and political history which pay little or no attention to the role of politicians and focus only on technocratic blueprints, administrative processes and incentive systems, this volume takes into account the role politicians play in shaping the character of their governments, public policy and state society relations. It studies the political transformation of Karnataka by focusing heavily on three chief ministers of the state who played an important role in making politics in Karnataka more accommodative, enlightened and, hence, more democratic.

This volume is a detailed insider 's account of the political processes in Karnataka, enriched with interviews and surveys which seek to locate this work in the social science literature, in Karnataka 's recent history and in comparative context alongside other Indian states.

Rethinking World Politics provides a reassessment of our understanding of politics in Third World societies. The severity of the political and economic crisis throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America in the 1980's has highlighted the inadequacies of existing political science theories. This book aims to redress this by setting a new agenda for the 1990s. In particular it examines the shortcomings of the two schools of thought that have dominated the field over the last 25 years - the political development school and the dependency school.

This study of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the pivotal figure in the emergence of modern politics in Sri Lanka, makes a major contribution to an important yet neglected period in the country's political history. Dr James Manor explores the personal and political dimensions of Bandaranaike's life, concentrating on the economic, social, political and cultural forces which had a substantial bearing upon his story. Bandaranaike is assessed as a member of that generation of Asian and African leaders who presided over the transition from imperial rule to assertive self-government and helped to develop new modes of politics. Bandaranaike's story illuminates the development of democratic politics in Sri Lanka as well as the origins of current tensions between Sinhalese and Tamils, which threaten to destroy democracy and the island's social cohesion.

This book is an in-depth empirical study of four Asian and African attempts to create democratic, decentralised local governments in the late 1980s and 1990s. The case studies of Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Karnataka (India) and Bangladesh focus upon the enhancement of participation; accountability between people, politicians and bureaucrats; and, most importantly, on whether governmental performance actually improved in comparison with previous forms of administration. The book is systematically comparative, and based upon extensive popular surveys and local field work. It makes an important contribution to current debates in the development literature on whether 'good governance' and decentralisation can provide more responsive and effective services for the mass of the population - the poor and disadvantaged who live in the rural areas.

This book is an in-depth empirical study of four Asian and African attempts to create democratic, decentralised local governments in the late 1980s and 1990s. The case studies of Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Karnataka (India) and Bangladesh focus upon the enhancement of participation; accountability between people, politicians and bureaucrats; and, most importantly, on whether governmental performance actually improved in comparison with previous forms of administration. The book is systematically comparative, and based upon extensive popular surveys and local field work. It makes an important contribution to current debates in the development literature on whether 'good governance' and decentralisation can provide more responsive and effective services for the mass of the population - the poor and disadvantaged who live in the rural areas.

India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), passed in 2005, has been among the developing world's most ambitious anti-poverty initiatives. By 'guaranteeing' 100 days of work annually to every rural household, NREGA has sought to advance the Indian constitution's commitment to securing citizens' 'right to work'. This book is not a technical evaluation of programme performance. It offers instead a detailed analysis of the politics surrounding NREGA: the model of political action that motivated its architects, the public advocacy and parliamentary maneuvering involved in its passage, the political dynamics shaping implementation at state and local levels, the institutional constraints on reforming how it operates, and its complex impacts on the political capacities of poor people.Based on their extensive -- primarily qualitative -- field research, the authors examine changing conceptions of rights and the challenges of making states more accountable to their most disadvantaged citizens.Their analysis of the politics of NREGA provides a window onto the inner workings of Indian democracy and the complex character of the Indian state as it attempts to upgrade its social welfare provision to something more in keeping with the country's growing stature.

James Manor is acknowledged as one of the world's leading experts on Indian politics, especially how it is affected by caste, political economy -- particularly poverty and its alleviation -- regionalism and modes of political leadership. This book distils his six decades of research, scholarship and writing on these topics, presenting the reader with a definitive collection of chapters covering the full spectrum of Manor's expertise. The first section is a commentary on the emergence of a consolidated democracy in India, and discusses political awakening and political decay, which, together with political regeneration, form the three key processes at work in Indian politics over the past forty years. If one aspect of the management of democratic affairs is linked to the Indian voters and their shifting political choices, the other is where political leaders step in; and Manor is equally interested in both. He devotes three sections to the nature of political parties, the trends of regional politics, and how, at all these levels, political actors manage the challenges of governance.He addresses the regional dynamics of politics through the lens of political leadership in the fourth section. And in the last section, he comments on the more recent and turbulent phase of Indian politics, as Hindu nationalists took power in the regions and at the centre.

Advocates of pluralist, competitive politics have regarded decentralization as a device for deepening democracy or for prying closed systems open and to give interest groups space in which to organize, compete and otherwise assert themselves. Some politicians in central governments see it as a means of delegating expensive tasks to others lower down. From a political economy perspective, this study examines the origins of the current wave of decentralizations in less-developed countries and its implications, especially its promise and limitations for rural development. It is based mainly on empirical evidence drawn from experiments with decentralization in a large number of countries. The paper is divided into six parts. Part I defines terms to show that the word 'decentralization' can mean many different things. Part II examines why some political regimes have often tended not to decentralize even when all indicators support the need for it. Part III seeks to explain the tendency of many regimes during the early 1980s to decentralize. Part IV examines the encounter between decentralized institutions and how they operate within their state-society and political milieu. Part V discusses the advantages and disadvantages of decentralization. Part VI assesses the promise of decentralization for rural development.

Research in recent years on aid effectiveness shows that significant obstacles in fragile states--insecurity, poor governance and weak implementation capacity--usually prevent aid from achieving the desired results in these environments. This study investigates the attributes and effectiveness of donor-supported programmes and projects that worked well under difficult conditions in fragile states. Presented in this study are nine development initiatives in six less developed countries Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Timor Leste and Uganda. The cases show that development initiatives, which engage local communities and local level governments, are often able to have significant impact. However, for more substantial improvements to take places, localized gains need to be scaled up either horizontally (other localities) or vertically (to higher levels). Given the advantages of working at the local level and the difficulty of working through mainstream bureaucratic agencies at higher levels in these countries, donors often prefer to create 'parallel-agencies' to reach out to larger numbers of beneficiaries. However, this may in the long run weaken the legitimacy of mainstream government institutions, and donor agencies may therefore choose to work as closely as possible with government officials from the beginning to build trust and demonstrating that new initiatives are non-threatening and help prepare the eventual mainstreaming of 'parallel agencies'."

Against the Odds is a Machiavellian study of the machinations of three senior politicians in quite different developing countries who adroitly played the tough political game in ways that reduced poverty. The three - former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and Chief Minister Digvijay Singh in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh - had scarcely heard of one another, and never communicated. And yet they used a broadly similar repertoire of political devices - persuasion, distractions, bargaining, stealth and pressure - to pursue broadly similar goals. They demonstrated two crucial things: poverty reduction is politically feasible, even in the teeth of daunting economic and political constraints; and it is politically beneficial to those who achieve it, since it enhances their popularity, legitimacy and influence. If leaders in other developing countries who are naturally preoccupied with their own political interests recognise these things, then serious efforts to reduce poverty will become more common elsewhere. This book is, unusually, the work of three well-known political scientists from Brazil, Kenya and Britain - each of whom specialises in one of the three countries that are analysed. After extensive field research, they engaged in detailed comparative discussions that impart greater coherence to Against the Odds, especially its conclusions.