{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.020335985853227233, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.658823529411765, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Elite Agency and Governance in Changing Societies: India in Comparative Perspective

Abstract The article uses a rational choice, neo-institutional model to analyse cross-region and over-time variation in governance in India. Governance is measured through qualitative indicators (perception of law and order, measured by a national opinion survey) and quantitative indicators (murders and riots per million of inhabitants). The article raises both specific and general questions. Why did India succeed in achieving a high level of governance compared to the majority of post-colonial states? Why has governance declined in some parts of India during the past decades? Which policies and administrative and legal structures promote governance? How do India's new social elites—many of whom have come up through elections and policies of positive discrimination—transform rebels into stakeholders and agents of law and order? The article concludes that governance remains high when decision-making elites respond to challenges to order through policies that combine sanctions with strategic reform and the accommodation of identity.