• Subscribe
  • /
  • Login
AggreStrat
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Global Overview
  • Regions
    • Central and South Asia
    • East Asia and Pacific
    • Europe & Eurasia
    • Near East
    • Sub-Saharan Africa
    • Western Hemisphere
  • Topics
    • Cyber Security
    • Economic Trends
    • Education
    • Enviornment, Climate Change, and Sustainability
    • Foreign Affairs
    • Global Commerce and Transportation
    • Instability, Extremism, and Terrorism
    • Medical Research and Healthcare
    • Security Cooperation and Military Strategy
  • Links
    • Google Scholar
    • Think Tank Watch
  • Contact Us

The Retreat to Method: the Aftermath of Elite Concession to Civil Society in India and Mexico

Studies in Comparative International Development | 28/02/2019

Abstract

The literature on democratic accountability assumes that alternative institutions can make state practices more transparent and thus enhance accountability. In this paper, we problematize the celebration of alternative institutions by comparing the cases of Mexico and India. Why, we ask, given the popular support for a caste census and a rights-based approach to poverty alleviation in India and Mexico, respectively, did these initiatives lose steam soon after political elites conceded to civil society demands? In answer, we argue that alternative institutions may become conduits to undercut accountability under the guise of expertise through a mechanism that we call the “retreat to method,” in which political elites channel substantive public debate into abstruse disputes over methodology. As the task of measuring poverty and caste retreats into backrooms, vertical accountability between the state and civil society in our two cases has weakened. Horizontal accountability mechanisms—in which one arm of the state (e.g., the bureaucracy) provides checks and balances on another (e.g., the legislature)—may be exploited to undercut vertical accountability in cases where expertise is valued over democratic deliberation.

Read more >>

Posted on:

General | Journals | South and Central Asia | Western Hemisphere |








    ABOUT AGGRESTRAT

    The Aggregation of Strategy and Foreign Policy

    We at AggreStrat believe that the best decisions are informed decisions.

    AggreStrat strives to bring together the world’s best think tanks, professional periodicals, academic journals, and government statements together in one place for quick review.

    Through quickly collecting and correlating information, decision-makers and researchers can find the subjects and content produces they need quickly to be informed and ready.

    AggreStrat Admin

    admin@aggrestrat.com

    Social Links
    tag cloud
    East Asian and Pacific European and Eurasian Near East South and Central Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Western Hemisphere
    • Home
    • Archive
    • Search
    Copyright 2019 © AggreStrat | All Rights Reserved

    Powered by