Uneven Development and the Origins of Contemporary Populism in the Global South: Hindutva and the Milli Görüs Movement in Comparative Perspective

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Recent analyses of right-wing populist political movements have predominantly centred on westernsocial formations, with explanation focusing on the most recent proximate causes for this resurgence.Through a comparison of the experience of two ruling political movements - the Indian BharatiyaJanta Party (BJP) and the Turkish Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP) - my research aims to addressthis gap, from an international historical-sociological perspective, analysing the trajectory ofcontemporary populism in these two pivotal countries of the Global South. I do this with particularreference to the development of distinctive forms of political mobilisation in the port-cities of Bombayand Istanbul during the early part of the twentieth century, which in my view are critical tounderstanding contemporary conservative populism in India and Turkey.Contemporary writing on India has emphasised the uniqueness of 'Indian culture' - framing it as anexception to standard sociological explanation, and thus requiring an appreciation of postcolonialdifference. I propose to challenge this idea through a comparison of colonial and non-colonialintegration into the world market. In turn, suggesting that the contemporary Indian political economy isto be understood not in reference to postcolonial difference, but with reference to the internationalexpansion of capitalist social relations. This method of explanation highlights the relationship betweenthe geography of uneven capitalist development and the formation of national identities and politicalsubjectivities. Further, it looks to identify how forms of collective agency have brought about sociohistoricalchange in the international system.