Why Regional Parties?
Clientelism, Elites, and the Indian Party System

The first major study of India's regional parties which discusses why, when, and where they are electorally successful.

Adam Ziegfeld (Author)

9781107118683, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 February 2016

310 pages, 21 b/w illus. 14 tables
23.7 x 16 x 2.7 cm, 0.63 kg

'Why do regional parties emerge and thrive in certain countries but not others? How does their rise affect levels of democratic representation and accountability within developing democracies? In this fascinating and valuable study, Ziegfeld argues that regional parties do not emerge because disappointed voters demand alternatives to poorly performing national parties. Instead, regional parties are deliberately crafted by political elites because of advantages such formations enjoy within decentralized, clientelistic, and fragmented electoral arenas across the developing world. Ziegfeld's argument is primarily based on meticulous research from India, from which he skillfully derives broader insights for understanding this important, yet understudied, class of political parties. The book thus deserves attention from scholars broadly interested in political parties, elections, and clientelism, as well as those specifically concerned with the maturation of the world's largest democracy.' Tariq Thachil, Yale University, Connecticut

Today, regional parties in India win nearly as many votes as national parties. In Why Regional Parties?, Professor Adam Ziegfeld questions the conventional wisdom that regional parties in India are electorally successful because they harness popular grievances and benefit from strong regional identities. He draws on a wide range of quantitative and qualitative evidence from over eighteen months of field research to demonstrate that regional parties are, in actuality, successful because they represent expedient options for office-seeking politicians. By focusing on clientelism, coalition government, and state-level factional alignments, Ziegfeld explains why politicians in India find membership in a regional party appealing. He therefore accounts for the remarkable success of India's regional parties and, in doing so, outlines how party systems take root and evolve in democracies where patronage, vote buying, and machine politics are common.

1. Introduction
2. Definitions and description - regional political parties in India
3. Theory - clientelism, elites, and regional parties
4. Evidence - elites and regional party success in India
5. Cross-national variation - clientelism and institutions
6. India's successful regional parties - the costs of building national parties
7. Longitudinal variation in India - coalition government and the rise of regional parties
8. Subnational variation in India - factional sorting and elite divisions
9. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Regional government policies [JPRB], Regional government [JPR], Political manifestos [JPLM], Political parties [JPL], Elections & referenda [JPHF], Comparative politics [JPB], Political science & theory [JPA]