Guest Lecture.

Democracy in South Asia: the village perception
by Arild E. Ruud (University of Oslo)
6th of April, 2-4pm, Building 1410, Room 136

For questions regarding this event please contact CISCA at cisca@hum.au.dk

There has been an increased interest in democracy and how it functions in South Asia over the last few years. One reason for the increased interest in democratic practice in South Asia, is democracy’s ability as a political system to cope with the challenges the countries of the region, or any country, are facing. At times terms such as ‘crisis of governance’ or ‘failed state’ have been used to characterise several of the South Asian countries. Still, surveys show that democracy continues to be ‘reigning ideology and aspiration’ in the whole region and that ‘support for democracy is fairly widespread’. There is a puzzle here, stemming from widespread support for a system that seemingly 'does not deliver'. Using village ethnography from Bangladesh, the lecture will try to come to terms with this puzzle, and to understand the perceptions ordinary and often illiterate voters have of democracy and the process of voting.

 

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