New Populism and Political Participation: The Case of Local Self-Governing Institutions

An overarching emphasis on the people and their political participation helps bring populism and democracy on the same page. Most literature on populism, therefore, seeks to situate itself within the parameters of democratic values and procedures. Populism also aims to step in and fill the vacuum created by non-performing or illiberal democracies. Yet, the literature suggests that once populism occupies center stage, it falls prey to the very ills it sought to remove and eradicate. This dialectic between populism and democracy has served as a framework against which many policies can be examined. This entry examines the functioning of local self-government in Kerala – one of the states in India known for its high literacy rate, human development, and commendable system of local governance. Introduced by the Left Democratic Front in the late 1990s as part of its populist stance, encouraging peoples’ involvement in governance, the local self-government became a model for other states to imbibe and emulate. Yet, one has to examine this within contemporary events that have served as exceptions and misnomers, suggesting that one needs to critically approach this much-celebrated populism in the backdrop of such disturbing events. In doing so, this entry seeks to present a sound assessment of populist policy in Kerala, sans the populist rhetoric.