Why Representation Matters : The Meaning of Ethnic Quotas in Rural India

When members of groups that have long been marginalized finally gain access to political offices, it is expected that the social meaning of belonging to such a group will change and that these psychological changes will have far-reaching behavioral consequences. Supporters of political quotas granting such access often argue that they improve the nature of intergroup relations. However, these presumed psychological effects have remained surprisingly uncharted and untested. Do policies mandating the inclusion of excluded groups in political offices change the intergroup relations? If so, in what ways? By drawing on careful multi-method explorations of a single case - local-level electoral quotas for members of formerly 'untouchable' castes in India - this book provides nuanced, thorough and ultimately optimistic responses to these questions. Tags: Social Psychology, Comparative Politics, General, World, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Social Science, Constitutions Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Table of contents List of figures List of tables Acknowledgments Note on terminology 1 Political Representation and Intergroup Relations 1.1 The Question 1.2 Theoretical Focus: The Psychology of Descriptive Representation 1.2.1 Policies of Descriptive Representation 1.2.2 Descriptive Representation and Interpersonal Relations 1.2.3 Cognitive Changes and Discrimination-Inducing Beliefs 1.3 The Argument 1.3.1 When Can Descriptive Representation Improve Group-Related Beliefs? 1.3.2 Which Beliefs Does Access to Representation Change? 1.4 The Case: Local-Level Political Quotas in Rural India 1.4.1 Why Focus on the Scheduled Castes? 1.4.2 Why Focus on Rajasthan? 1.4.3 Why Focus on Local-Level Positions? 1.5 Research Design 1.5.1 Theory-Building 1.5.2 Theory-Testing: The Causal Impact of Descriptive Representation 1.6 Limitations and External Validity 1.7 Contribution to Debates about Quotas and Descriptive Representation 1.7.1 Mechanisms of Social Change 1.7.2 Rethinking the Value of Descriptive Representation 1.8 Outline 2 Untouchability in Rural India 2.1 The Persistence of Untouchability in Rural India 2.1.1 Defining Untouchability 2.1.2 Rural Untouchability in the Twenty-First Century: The Evidence 2.1.3 The Stickiness of Untouchability in Rural India 2.1.4 The Uncertain Effects of Political Mobilization 2.1.5 The Limited Effects of Anti-Untouchability Policies 2.2 The Evolution of Untouchability in Rural India 2.2.1 The Changes: Many Practices Have Disappeared 2.2.2 Changes in Patterns of Untouchability-Related Violence 2.2.3 Changes in the Motivations of Untouchability 3 Local Representation in Rural India 3.1 The Modern Panchayati Raj System: Origins and Functions 3.2 What Do Gram Panchayats Do? The Case of Rajasthan 3.2.1 The Functions of Gram Panchayats 3.2.2 Resources, Budget, and Personnel 3.3 The Village Council President in Rajasthan 3.3.1 Sarpanches as Common Villagers 3.3.2 The Winner of an Epic Electoral Battle 3.3.3 A Member of the Village Council 3.3.4 The Highest Executive Authority in the Village 3.3.5 An Upwardly Mobile Individual 3.4 Conclusion 4 Theory: The Impact of Descriptive Representation 4.1 The State of the Debate: Less Negative Stereotypes or Backlash Effects? 4.2 A Limited Framework 4.2.1 Competing Hypotheses? 4.2.2 The Conditionality of “Backlash Effects” 4.2.2.1 Does Access to Representation Affect Redistribution? 4.2.2.2 Is Access to Representation Perceived to Affect Redistribution? 4.2.3 Can Political Representation Change Stereotypes? 4.2.4 Looking Beyond Stereotypes: The Broader Impact of Representation on Intergroup Relations 4.2.5 The Need for Inductive Research 4.3 Political Representation and Intergroup Relations: The Case of SC Sarpanches in Rural Rajasthan 4.3.1 The Likely Absence of Redistributive Effects and Its Consequences 4.3.1.1 Local-Level Reservations: A Weak and Unlikely Attack on the Status Quo 4.3.1.2 The View from the Ground: Dominant Castes’ Unfazed Reactions to Reservation 4.3.2 Beyond Material Benefits: The Other Consequences of Reservation 4.3.2.1 The Impact of Lower-Caste Representatives in India: Existing Theories 4.3.2.2 Changes in Village Life under SC Leadership 4.3.3 The Impact of Reservation on Group-Related Beliefs 4.3.3.1 An Impact on Stereotypes? 4.3.3.2 An Impact on Perceived Norms of Interactions? 4.3.4 From Changes in Beliefs to Changes in Interpersonal Behaviors? 4.4 Summary of the Argument and Testable Hypotheses 5 Quantitative Methodology 5.1 Sampling Villages 5.2 Sampling SC and Non-SC Villagers 5.3 Measuring the Tangible Consequences of Descriptive Representation 5.3.1 Measuring the Material Impact of Reservation 5.3.2 Measuring the Impact of Reservation on Inter-Caste Contact 5.4 Measuring the Psychological Impact of Descriptive Representation 6 Tests: The Material and Tangible Effects of Descriptive Representation 6.1 Uncertain and Conditional Redistributive Effects 6.1.1 Data and Measures 6.1.2 Methodology 6.1.3 Results 6.1.4 Interpretation 6.2 The Major Impact of Reservation on Inter-Caste Contact 6.2.1 Data and Measures 6.2.2 Methodology 6.2.3 Results 6.2.4 Discussion 7 Tests: The Cognitive Impact of Descriptive Representation 7.1 Data 7.1.1 Measuring Stereotypes and Self-Stereotypes 7.1.2 Measuring Perceived Social Norms of Inter-Caste Interaction 7.1.3 Measuring Perceived Legal Norms of Inter-caste Interaction 7.2 Analyses and Results 7.2.1 The Beliefs of Non-SC Villagers 7.2.2 The Beliefs of SC Villagers 7.3 Discussion 8 The Effects of Descriptive Representation on Interpersonal Relations 8.1 The Impact of Reservation on Prejudice 8.2 The Impact of Reservation on Behavioral Intentions 8.2.1 Measuring Behavioral Intentions among Non-SCs 8.2.2 Measuring Behavioral Intentions: Items Used for SC Respondents 8.3 Analyses and Results 8.3.1 Less Hostile Intentions Among Non-SC Villagers 8.3.2 More Assertive Behaviors among SC Villagers 8.4 Alternative Explanations? 8.5 Putting It All Together: The Impact of Descriptive Representation on Intergroup Relations 8.5.1 The Impact of Descriptive Representation on Members of Disadvantaged Groups 8.5.2 The Impact of Descriptive Representation on Dominant Groups 9 Descriptive Representation and Intergroup Relations in Comparative Perspective 9.1 Specificity of the Rajasthan Study 9.1.1 Context of the Rajasthan Study 9.1.2 A Limited Sample 9.1.3 Timing: A One-Shot Study 9.2 How Did the Timing of the Study Affect Results? 9.2.1 Backlash Effects in the Short Run? 9.2.2 What to Expect in the Long Run, After Reservation? 9.3 How Did the Focus on Adult Males Affect Results? 9.4 How Did the Social and Institutional Context of the Study Affect Results? 9.4.1 The Impact of Descriptive Representation across Social Contexts 9.4.2 The Impact of Descriptive Representation across Institutional Contexts 9.5 Putting It All Together: Where and When Should Policies of Descriptive Representation Improve Intergroup Relations? 9.6 Epilogue Appendix A: Methodological Note on Field Research Objective(s) How Were Villages Chosen? Why Focus on Male Sarpanches? When Did We Visit? What Did We Do During Those Visits? Appendix B : The Pair-Matches Appendix C: Additional Balance Tests Appendix D: Did Members of the Scheduled Castes Self-Select into Reserved Villages? Bibliography Press Articles Index Supporters of political quotas for members of marginalized groups often argue that they can improve the nature of intergroup relations. Drawing on a careful multi-method exploration of quotas for the 'untouchable' castes in India, this book shows that these measures contribute to improving common interpersonal interactions. This book explores how political quotas mandating inclusion of marginalized groups socially impact the intergroup relations