When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics
The first thorough study of the co-existence of crime and democratic processes in Indian politics  

In India, the world’s largest democracy, the symbiotic relationship between crime and politics raises complex questions. For instance, how can free and fair democratic processes exist alongside rampant criminality? Why do political parties recruit candidates with reputations for wrongdoing? Why are one-third of state and national legislators elected—and often re-elected—in spite of criminal charges pending against them? In this eye-opening study, political scientist Milan Vaishnav mines a rich array of sources, including fieldwork on political campaigns and interviews with candidates, party workers, and voters, large surveys, and an original database on politicians’ backgrounds to offer the first comprehensive study of an issue that has implications for the study of democracy both within and beyond India’s borders. 
1123644273
When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics
The first thorough study of the co-existence of crime and democratic processes in Indian politics  

In India, the world’s largest democracy, the symbiotic relationship between crime and politics raises complex questions. For instance, how can free and fair democratic processes exist alongside rampant criminality? Why do political parties recruit candidates with reputations for wrongdoing? Why are one-third of state and national legislators elected—and often re-elected—in spite of criminal charges pending against them? In this eye-opening study, political scientist Milan Vaishnav mines a rich array of sources, including fieldwork on political campaigns and interviews with candidates, party workers, and voters, large surveys, and an original database on politicians’ backgrounds to offer the first comprehensive study of an issue that has implications for the study of democracy both within and beyond India’s borders. 
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When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics

When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics

by Milan Vaishnav
When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics

When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics

by Milan Vaishnav

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Overview

The first thorough study of the co-existence of crime and democratic processes in Indian politics  

In India, the world’s largest democracy, the symbiotic relationship between crime and politics raises complex questions. For instance, how can free and fair democratic processes exist alongside rampant criminality? Why do political parties recruit candidates with reputations for wrongdoing? Why are one-third of state and national legislators elected—and often re-elected—in spite of criminal charges pending against them? In this eye-opening study, political scientist Milan Vaishnav mines a rich array of sources, including fieldwork on political campaigns and interviews with candidates, party workers, and voters, large surveys, and an original database on politicians’ backgrounds to offer the first comprehensive study of an issue that has implications for the study of democracy both within and beyond India’s borders. 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780300224740
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication date: 01/24/2017
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 384
File size: 5 MB

About the Author

Milan Vaishnav is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. He was previously a fellow at the Center for Global Development and has taught at Columbia, George Washington, and Georgetown Universities.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

List of Abbreviations xxi

Note to Readers xxiii

Part I

1 Lawmakers and Lawbreakers: The Puzzle of Indian Democracy 3

2 The Rise of the Rents Raj: India's Corruption Ecosystem 25

Part II

3 Criminal Enterprise: Why Criminals Joined Politics 73

4 The Costs of Democracy: How Money Fuels Muscle in Elections 115

5 Doing Good by Doing Bad: The Demand for Criminality 157

6 The Salience of Social Divisions: How Context Shapes Criminality 205

Part III

7 Crime without Punishment: From Deep Roots to Proximate Causes 245

8 An Entrenched Marketplace: Rethinking Democratic Accountability 281

Appendix A Details of the Affidavit Dataset 313

Appendix B Details of Bihar Voter Survey 329

Appendix C Details of Lok Social Attitudes Survey 331

Notes 333

Index 401

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