A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details PENETRATING LOCALITIES: PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT AND PRAGMATIC POLITICS IN RURAL ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA Benjamin Powis Doctor of Philosophy University of Sussex November 2012 Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex iii Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex BENJAMIN POWIS Doctor of Philosophy Penetrating Localities: Participatory Development and Pragmatic Politics in Rural Andhra Pradesh, India Summary This research sets out to explore the interface between the new politics of localisation and the political process in India. Governments and donors have increasingly emphasised the locality as the primary unit of development and politics. This new trajectory has been manifest in the increase of community-based organisations and mechanisms of participatory governance at the local level. From the late 1990s, the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh emerged as one of the most important examples of this new developmental politics and this research sets out to explore how local dynamics changed as a result. Political economy approaches tend to focus on state-periphery relations in terms of interest groups or vote banks. By contrast, this research found the village to be an enduring unit in the political system through which political identity manifests itself through three features. First, participation in local elections is driven by common forces of politics of parties, caste and corruption but its outcome is dependent on the specific context at the village level. Second, new participatory institutions created through state policy were found to merge with informal practices at the local level and produce a complex interplay between the new local and state identities. Third, analysis of leadership found evidence of a well-defined system of organisation within party groups at the village level, which were shaped not by party institutions but by the inner workings of village politics. These findings give cause to reassess the way in which we understand policy and political change. I do so by expanding on Skocpol's polity approach, which focused attention on the dynamic interplay of policy and social structure. Drawing on elements of the 'political development' theory, the concept of a ‘developing polity’ approach is elaborated on, to better explain the complex interplay between local and higher level politics. These findings have implications for understanding both political change in India and development strategy. The macro-perspective on the decay of political institutions is contrasted with a local perspective that finds evidence of the vitality of party politics at the village level. This has a number of important implications for development, both in terms of the way in which we analyse participation and the way in which participatory development can be translated into political change. iv Acknowledgements It has been a journey along a long road to get to this point with this thesis. Many people have helped along the way, too many to mention here. I would, however, like to thank the following people. I have received guidance from two supervisors, each of whom has contributed differently to my work. Professor James Manor saw me through the design and implementation and infused this project with a'sense of politics'. Dr Anuradha Joshi took this on at the closing stages, helped me find a sense of clarity and drove me towards completion, for which I am immensely grateful. I am grateful to the Economic and Social Research Council for funding this work and to Dr Srinivasulu and Osmania University for providing an institutional home in India. In the field, Suresh Babu, Abbas Mohammad and Vara Prasad Rao assisted with translation and data collection at different points, and acted as companions during weeks and months of work in challenging conditions. In Brighton, I have received guidance and support from many people but I would like to especially mention Angela Dowman and Sue Ong for helping me to see this through. I am also grateful to Ronald Adamtey and especially to Cassie Biggs who stepped in at the last minute to provide invaluable editorial support. On a personal note, friends and family in the UK and India have provided immense understanding over the many years that this has taken. Most of all, I want to thank my wife, Vijaya, for her patience and exceptional support. Table of Contents Abbreviations, acronyms and glossary ......................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1: THE POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICS ................................................................................................................................................................... 12 1. 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 12 1.2 THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS – THE NEW POLITICS OF LOCALISATION ..................................... 15 1.2.1Politics of localisation .............................................................................................................................. 17 1.2.2 Localisation of politics ........................................................................................................................... 20 1.2.3The polity approach ................................................................................................................................. 28 1.2.4 The developing polity approach ........................................................................................................ 30 1.3 IMPLICATIONS AND QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH ................................................................................... 35 1.4 CONCLUSION AND STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ..................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 41 2.1 OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................................... 41 2.2 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ................................................................................................................. 43 2.3 APPLICATION OF METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH .................................................................................. 45 2.3.1Selection of field sites ............................................................................................................................... 45 2.3.2Outline of the selected villages ............................................................................................................ 49 2.3.3Defining the locality ................................................................................................................................. 51 2.3.4Structured survey ...................................................................................................................................... 54 2.3.5Key informants and leaders .................................................................................................................. 56 2.3.6Phase two: understanding the political stratum ........................................................................ 57 2.3.7Data handling ............................................................................................................................................. 60 2.4 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FIELD ................................................................................ 61 2.4.1Relating to the subject ............................................................................................................................. 61 2.4.2 Constructing village narratives ......................................................................................................... 63 2.4.3 Ethics and presentation ......................................................................................................................... 65 2.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................ 65 CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENTAL POLITICS IN ANDHRA PRADESH ...................................... 66 3.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................ 66 3.2 CONTEXT AND GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES ........................................................................................... 67 3.3 PHASE 1: DECLINE OF THE CONGRESS CITADEL .................................................................................... 70 3.4 PHASE 2: LIMITS TO CHARISMA – THE INITIAL YEARS OF THE TELUGU DESAM PARTY ................ 73 3.5 PHASE