Costs of democracy : political finance in India

Elections are the procedural foundations of democracy. We cannot conceive of democracy without elections, but it is equally impossible to imagine elections without money. This book is the first in-depth investigation of the role money plays in Indian politics. Drawing on extensive fieldwork on political campaigns, unique surveys, and creative and innovative data analysis, this book opens readers’ eyes to the opaque and enigmatic ways in which money flows through the political heart of the world’s largest democracy. The contributions in this volume are structured around five central questions: What is the institutional and regulatory context governing the flow of money in politics? What are the sources of political finance? What do campaigns spend on and why do they spend such vast sums? How does money operate at, and interact with, different levels of government? And what are the substantive implications for democracy itself? One Of The Most Troubling Critiques Of Contemporary Democracy Is The Inability Of Representative Governments To Regulate The Deluge Of Money In Politics. If It Is Impossible To Conceive Of Democracies Without Elections, It Is Equally Impractical To Imagine Elections Without Money. Costs Of Democracy Is An Exhaustive, Ground-breaking Study Of Money In Indian Politics That Opens Readers’ Eyes To The Opaque And Enigmatic Ways In Which Money Flows Through The Political Veins Of The World’s Largest Democracy. Through Original, In-depth Investigation—drawing From Extensive Fieldwork On Political Campaigns, Pioneering Surveys, And Innovative Data Analysis—the Contributors In This Volume Uncover The Institutional And Regulatory Contexts Governing The Torrent Of Money In Politics; The Sources Of Political Finance; The Reasons For Such Large Spending; And How Money Flows, Influences, And Interacts With Different Tiers Of Government. The Book Raises Uncomfortable Questions About Whether The Flood Of Money Risks Washing Away Electoral Democracy Itself. If it impossible to conceive of democracies sans elections, why is it impossible to imagine elections without the flood of money in politics? How does every general election in India get more expensive than the last one? Stepping into the mucky terrain to find out what enables the average Indian vote to have a price, Costs of Democracy opens readers' eyes to the opaque and enigmatic ways in which money flows through the political heart of the world's largest democracy. In the first in-depth investigation drawing from extensive fieldwork on political campaigns, unique surveys, and creative and innovative data analysis, the contributions chase and unpack the institutional and regulatory context governing the flow of money in politics; the sources of political finance; the need for such large spending; how money flow, operate, and interact with different levels of government. If it impossible to conceive of democracies sans elections, why is it impossible to imagine elections without the flood of money in politics? How does every general election in India get more expensive than the last one? Stepping into the mucky terrain to find out what enables the average Indian vote to have a price, Costs of Democracy opens readers' eyes to the opaque and enigmatic ways in which money flows through the political heart of the world's largest democracy. 0In the first in-depth investigation drawing from extensive fieldwork on political campaigns, unique surveys, and creative and innovative data analysis, the contributions chase and unpack the institutional and regulatory context governing the flow of money in politics; the sources of political finance; the need for such large spending; how money flow, operate, and interact with different levels of government If it's impossible to conceive of democracies sans elections, why is it impossible to imagine elections without the flood of money in politics? How does every general election in India get more expensive than the last one? Stepping into the mucky terrain to find out what enables the average Indian vote to have a price, 'Costs of Democracy' opens readers' eyes to the opaque and enigmatic ways in which money flows through the political heart of the world's largest democracy