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Everyday Mediation: The Politics of Public Service Delivery in Gujarat, India
Author(s) -
Berenschot Ward
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
development and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-7660
pISSN - 0012-155X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7660.2010.01660.x
Subject(s) - mediation , dialectic , politics , institutionalisation , state (computer science) , order (exchange) , service delivery framework , public administration , service (business) , political science , sociology , political economy , law , business , economy , economics , philosophy , epistemology , algorithm , finance , computer science
This article follows a municipal councillor in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India) on his daily routine in order to explore the various ways in which politicians in India operate as mediators between state institutions and citizens. Political mediation is deeply entrenched in the procedures, policies and habits that guide the daily functioning of Gujarat's state institutions. This article argues that this institutionalization of political mediation is the outcome of a dialectic between the limited capacity of the state to provide public services and the strategies that local politicians employ to win elections.