Center for Emerging Democracies Lecture. Claims, complaints and democratization of the local state in India

The talk will examine the effects of rights-based welfare expansion in India on local governance and civic action by comparing two accountability systems in the state of Bihar. Based on extensive field research conducted across six districts, the book argues that the ritualization of interactions with citizens who have been historically marginalized, in rule-based settings, builds a new legal consciousness within the bureaucracy. The book shows how these new openings in the local state, which combine organic forms of mobilization with induced forms of participation and recognition of individual and collective claims, build political capacities through its use, incentivize collective action, and enliven local democracy. In large part, these changes can be attributed to the role of state-sponsored but autonomous facilitation and transforming the conditions under which the state listens.

Zoom registration at https://myumi.ch/4jqew