From Identity to Interests? Quantitative and Qualitative Explanations of Electoral Change in Rural and Urban India

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The network intends to compare politics in Indian cities and villages by studying state and local elections, quantitatively as well as qualitatively. It hypothesizes that the voters are moving from identity-related to issue-based motivations - in cities if not in villages - and that the changing profile of the elected representatives - including the MLAs - reflect an ongoing social democratization process in spite of the development of local dynasties and the resilience of patronage. The network will bring into conversation researchers in different social science disciplines,employing different methodologies to demonstrate the complementarity of survey-based and ethnographic approaches to studying elections.