For more information
Call 1-800-351-0222
Call 1-800-351-0222
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA.
Term Paper ID:30558
Get This Paper Free! or
Essay Subject:
Discusses political development of the two countries in terms of political development theories.... More...
7 Pages / 1575 Words
9 sources, 21 Citations,
APA Format
$28.00
More Papers on This Topic
Paper Abstract:
Discusses political development of the two countries in terms of political developoment theories. Characteristics of the experiences of both countries. India's development since independence as a state of transition; fragmented political parties;social discontent. India as a bureaucratism-authoritarianism model. Political changes in South Africa since the end of apartheid. Limited movement toward democracy.
Paper Introduction:
South Africa, India, and Political Development
The process of political development has been theorized by Howard J. Wrarda (2000) as falling within one of several alternative developmental theories. These theories include bureaucratic-authoritarianism (BA), world systems, corporatism, political economy, state-society relations, indigenous theories of change, rational choice theory, and the new institutionalism. Wrarda (2000) believes that this assortment of political development theories emerged because of a realization that the traditional, formal-legal approach dominating the field was inadequate to explain contemporary political development paradigms. This report will consider political development in India and South Africa and characterize these states’ experiences in the context of the most applicable theoretical
Text of the Paper:
The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper.
The traditional means for the development of new leadership werediminished, causing the formation of rival parties and leading theseparties to eat into Congress' traditional base (Schaffer, 2 ). Based on these limited comments,it would appear that bureaucratic-authoritarianism, along with state-society relations would be the most viable analytic frameworks for ananalysis of political development in India. Though the constitution of the country enshrinesa bill of rights, an elite drawn from among the African National Congress(ANC) continues to govern along the same bureaucratic-authoritarian linesthat were typical during the period before apartheid was officially ended. It is here that the theory of indigenous peoplesas a spur to a certain kind (perhaps "direction" is a better term) ofpolitical development is of significance. In the case of South Africa, Gibson (2 1) asserts that South Africais not and has not become a liberal democracy in the sense of one law andone set of rights for all its citizens. The electoral and party systems that have emerged sincethe end of apartheid have not succeeded in achieving meaningfulredistribution of either land or income. Journal of Asian andAfrican Studies, 36 (1), 65 - 77. Wrarda, H. At the same time, an indigenous theory of political change alsoapplies in that the movement towards democracy and the inclusion ofmarginalized groups in South Africa occurred because of ongoing agitationfrom those marginalized groups and pressures brought to bear by the worldcommunity. (2 1). P. (2 ). (1993). Gibson (2 1), for example, has argued that despite the massivechanges toward a democratic and open society that occurred with the end ofapartheid, the vast majority of Black South Africans have yet to win socialand economic justice. The country possesses a plurallegislation that applies to different citizens. Democracy and distribution inhighly unequal economies. These theories include bureaucratic-authoritarianism (BA), world systems,corporatism, political economy, state-society relations, indigenoustheories of change, rational choice theory, and the new institutionalism.Wrarda (2 ) believes that this assortment of political developmenttheories emerged because of a realization that the traditional, formal-legal approach dominating the field was inadequate to explain contemporarypolitical development paradigms. The key actors in this transition were notand are not contending elite factions. Liberalization of participation in the political process anda rejection of elite dominance within India's political democracy suggeststhat this process of development is creating a new balance of class powerin society (Singh, 2 1). K., & Singh, V. Singh, G. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. As The Economist (The dilemma of democracy, 1993)has suggested, the BJP has emerged as an alternative to the Congress Partyand as firmly positioned in the ranks of militant Hindu groups that areintolerant of other faiths and their adherents.India's development is therefore a process in which social change has takenon enhanced significance. References Barchiesi, F. Wrarda(2 ) as falling within one of several alternative developmental theories. (1993). In essence, Inkatha Zulu represents the efforts ofindigenous people to challenge the political system of an elite - an elitedrawn admittedly from among Black Africans, but an elite nevertheless(Wood, 2 1). (2 1). They are representatives ofdistinct classes whose conflict of economic interest propelled the conflictand whose economic interdependence have contributed to the structural basisof South Africa's democratizing resolution. Nattrass, N., & Seekings, J. For instance, mainly urbanresidences are governed through civil law and mainly rural residences aresubject to customary law. Additionally, the politicaleconomy approach appears to be particularly useful in understandingdevelopments in India. Across the rural/urban conceptual divide, Gibson (2 1) contends thatInkatha Zulu continues to wield significant power, but also notes that norelatively stable mix of liberalization and democratization in the sensemeant by Dahl in his term "polyarchy" has yet to unfreeze existing socialand economic relations. In India, political development since independence has beencharacterized by Schaffer (2 ) as having been in a state of endemictransition. Some even charge that the end result of the"quiet revolution" in South Africa has been to substitute one bureaucratic-authoritarian elite for another - to the distinct disadvantage of the verygroups of indigenous peoples without whom ANC could not have prevailed(Barchiesi, 2 1). ANC was able to mobilize a broad arrayof class forces around themes of national liberation, non-racialism, andsocial equality (Barchiesi, 2 1). South Africa, India, and Political DevelopmentThe process of political development has been theorized by Howard J. Having "won" the struggle for parity and an end toofficial apartheid, ANC has not become an inclusive vehicle for therepresentation of disparate groups. South Africa's ANC was longrepresented as a party of the "minority" coalition of "people of color."However, as the case in Inkatha Zulu suggests, the cohesiveness of ANC isno longer in existence. In South Africa, disparity in terms of both economics and powercontinues to exist. As Singh (2 1) maintains, thelast decade in India has presented a decided move away from the politicalideology of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasties that for so long defined post-colonial India. Beginning with the general election of 1989, neither the CongressParty nor any other party has managed to win a majority, resulting in thesuccessive election of hung parliaments and the rise of smaller identity-based political parties (Howell, 2 1). (2 1). A new India is apparently being invented today in whichthe Bhartija Janata Party (BJP) has instituted a movement away fromNehruvianism. Journal of Development Studies, 29 (4), 177 -216. Fragmented politicalparties after 1989 have resulted in a growth in social discontent and arise in cultural/religious intolerance. The dilemma of democracy. Simultaneously, the bureaucraticauthority system of the White Supremacist governments of the past remainsfirmly in place - leading to the conclusion by Nattrass and Seekings (2 1)that political development processes in this country are still followingthe pattern laid down long ago. World and I,15 (6), 18 -22. Politically and socially, the domination of the CongressParty, with its broad command of key vote banks and its upper caste-oriented power structure has given way to fragmented political parties anda strong drive for inclusion of marginalized groups. Wood (2 1) considers South Africa's move toward democracy to havebeen implemented by a mobilization from below that transformed keyinterests of economic elites. Varshney, A. Political economy offers insightinto this process by positing that political change depends on some degreeon new economic distribution systems (Wrarda, 2 ). The Journal of Modern African Studies, 39 (3),47 - 797. In the case of South Africa, political development during the era ofapartheid can best be understood within the framework of bureaucratic-authoritarianism largely because it was assumed that a close correlationbetween economic growth and political democracy would emerge (Wrarda,2 ). (1999). Reinventing India. Mitra, S. A Cross-Sectional Analysis ofthe National Electorate. These comments, though brief, serve to illustrate how new theories ofcomparative political development can be applied in real-world cases. Seen in this context, development inIndia is increasingly challenged by numerous social cleavages that makeelectoral politics a contact sport. Self-limited empowerment: Democracy, economicdevelopment and rural India. Therejection of Nehruvianism as represented in the assassination of bothIndira and Rajiv Gandhi suggests that communal conflict is doing far moreto shape the relationships of political groups in India than any othernormative democratic institutions. (2 ). For many years the Congress Partyroutinely returned large majorities to Parliament, but under Indira Gandhi,the Congress Party became little more than an extension of her personalrule. Some of the social demands made theirway into the programs of the new government, by a new insecurity amongworkers and unions suggests that insufficient progress toward inclusion andredistribution had been made. Journal of Development Studies,38 (1), 159. Democratic institutions in India have been dramatically affected bythe new activism and empowerment of rural political coalitions and groups.Politics based on economic interests have united rural India whilesimultaneously pushing the state even more toward politics based on caste,ethnicity, and religion (Varshney, 1993). In this context, Mitra and Singh (1999) argued that the relationshipbetween state and society in India established in the post-colonial era bythe dominant elites of the Congress Party is becoming increasinglyvulnerable to new coalitions emerging within the Indian electorate. This report will consider politicaldevelopment in India and South Africa and characterize these states'experiences in the context of the most applicable theoretical framework. C. Indian democracy after 52 years. Gibson, N. Transition from apartheid. A limited movement toward democracy suggests thatthe transition has been relatively slow. Schaffer, T. Introduction to Comparative Politics.New York: Harcourt Brace & Company. (2 1). Indian political life since the colonial era has been characterizedas falling within the model of development known as bureaucratism-authoritarianism in which democracy has been supplanted to a degree by whatWrarda (2 ) calls military authoritarianism. Indiaand South Africa, though very different in many critical ways, are bothapparently pursuing a path of development that moves, for the most part,according to the bureaucratic-authoritarian model. Labor and democracy in South Africa: Where now?Dollars & Sense, September 18 - 22. In fact, according to Nattrass andSeekings (2 1), the new "democratic" state has failed to develop the kindof educational, health, welfare, and service infrastructures that areneeded to ensure meaningful democratic participation by the most poor.Labor market and economic policies that have remained remarkably unchangedsince the end of the apartheid era (despite the efforts of the Mandela andsubsequent governments) have contributed to societal polarization and themarginalization of disparate groups. The grassroots strength of the ANC has eroded since the end ofapartheid, leaving a power vacuum into which special interest groups havepoured (Barchesi, 2 1). The Economist, 329 (7835), S2 -S22.
If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again:
or
We can write a Custom Essay just for you.
Browse Essays by Subject