The Formation of Civil Society and Party-Political system: the Experience of India

Abstract

The article, India taken as a case study, is focused on civil society/party system interrelationship. Among origins of comparative advancement of India’s party system are such historical constituents as: lasting existence of “centre- periphery” relations, ambivalent role of “pragmatic” British imperial rule in country’s development, availability of proactive social forces susceptible to absorb overseas industrial culture as well as political democracy. In the ultimate analysis, these and other “motives” were instrumental in India’s choice for representative institutions as most functional mode of governance. India’s civil society and party system are examined from the “classic”/ west European political economy perspective.

Keywords

• civil society
• party system
• western europe
• india
• polarized mode of development
• british imperial rule
• indian national congress
• bharatiya janata party
• relative majority electoral system
• political socialization
• india’s geopolitics and foreign economic relations