Why Representation Matters: The Meaning of Ethnic Quotas in Rural India - Softcover

Chauchard, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107565804 ISBN 13: 9781107565807

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2019

Synopsis

When members of groups that have long been marginalized finally gain access to political offices, it is expected that the social meaning of belonging to such a group will change and that these psychological changes will have far-reaching behavioral consequences. Supporters of political quotas granting such access often argue that they improve the nature of intergroup relations. However, these presumed psychological effects have remained surprisingly uncharted and untested. Do policies mandating the inclusion of excluded groups in political offices change the intergroup relations? If so, in what ways? By drawing on careful multi-method explorations of a single case - local-level electoral quotas for members of formerly 'untouchable' castes in India - this book provides nuanced, thorough and ultimately optimistic responses to these questions.

About this title

Book Description

Supporters of political quotas for members of marginalized groups often argue that they can improve the nature of intergroup relations. Drawing on a careful multi-method exploration of quotas for the 'untouchable' castes in India, this book shows that these measures contribute to improving common interpersonal interactions.

About the Author

Simon Chauchard is an assistant professor in the Department of Government at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, where he is a faculty affiliate in the Asia and Middle Eastern Studies program. Recent works have appeared in Political Opinion Quarterly, the American Political Science Review and Comparative Political Studies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1107565804
• ISBN 13: 9781107565807
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 310