[Reader-list] Invitation to a Panel Discussion on Democratic Dynasties: State, Party and Family in Contemporary Indian Politics

[Praveen Rai]

A panel discussion on *Democratic Dynasties: State, Party and Family in
Contemporary Indian Politics *edited by Kanchan Chandra will be held on 5
August 2016 at Bikaner House, Pandara Road, India Gate, New Delhi. The
discussion would be moderated by Patrick French, historian and biographer,
author of *India: A Portrait**. *The panelists include:



*NirajaGopal Jayal*,   Professor, Centre for the Study of Law and
Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University.



*Salman Khurshid*, Former Minister of External Affairs, Indian National
Congress.



*Jayant Sinha*, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Bharatiya Janata
Party.



*Kanchan Chandra*, Professor of Politics, New York University.



The book is a collection of essays on dynastic politics, usually presumed
to be the antithesis of democracy, is a routine aspect of politics in many
modern democracies. This book introduces a new theoretical perspective on
dynasticism in democracies, using original data on twenty-first-century
Indian parliaments. It argues that the roots of dynastic politics lie at
least in part in modern democratic institutions - states and parties -
which give political families a leg-up in the electoral process. It also
proposes a rethinking of the view that dynastic politics is a violation of
democracy, showing that it can also reinforce some aspects of democracy
while violating others. Finally, this book suggests that both reinforcement
and violation are the products, not of some property intrinsic to political
dynasties, but of the institutional environment from which those dynasties
emerge.



*Friday, 5 August 2016, 7 pm*
*Bikaner House, New Delhi*


-- 
Praveen Rai
Academic Secretary
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
29, Rajpur Road
Delhi - 110054
Phone: 91-11-23942199
http://www.csds.in/praveen.rai