Grass-roots Democracy in India and China The Right to Participate

Both India and China have experienced economic changes that have generated new challenges for local institutions. This volume closely studies the resultant grass-roots political experiences in these countries from an interdisciplinary perspective. It examines the process of democratization and highlights the growing demands for participation and the complex power structures interjecting them. The contributors to this volume discuss issues relating to institutional structures and the dynamics of local governance in a changing socio-economic environment. In addition to the political economy of rural areas, they also focus on the role of gender, ethnicity, and religion in local political processes. Key FeaturesOutlines how institutional innovation has evolved in both countriesHighlights the impact of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution (in India) and the Organic Law (in China) in facilitating political participationInvestigates how far the new democratic processes have reduced ethnic subordination, caste hierarchy, and gender injustice at the village levelComprising individual case studies as well as comparative perspectives, this pioneering volume raises new issues of institution-building and socio-economic change vis-?-vis the right to participate. It will be of particular interest to political scientists, sociologists, and social activists.Mohanty, Manoranjan is the author of 'Grass-roots Democracy in India and China The Right to Participate', published 2007 under ISBN 9780761935155 and ISBN 0761935150.