How Solidarity Works for Welfare Subnationalism and Social Development in India

Why are some places in the world characterized by better social service provision and welfare outcomes than others? In a world in which millions of people, particularly in developing countries, continue to lead lives plagued by illiteracy and ill-health, understanding the conditions that promote social welfare is of critical importance to political scientists and policy makers alike. Drawing on a multi-method study, from the late-nineteenth century to the present, of the stark variations in educational and health outcomes within a large, federal, multiethnic developing country - India - this book develops an argument for the power of collective identity as an impetus for state prioritization of social welfare. Such an argument not only marks an important break from the dominant negative perceptions of identity politics but also presents a novel theoretical framework to understand welfare provision.

List of figures and tables; Acknowledgments; 1. Subnationalism and social development: an introduction; 2. How solidarity works for welfare: the subnationalist motivation for social development; 3. The origins of the differential strength of subnationalism; 4. How subnationalism promotes social development; 5. How absence of subnationalism impedes social development; 6. Subnationalism and social development across Indian states; 7. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Prerna Singh is the Mahatma Gandhi Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Brown University, Rhode Island where she is also a faculty fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Prior to joining Brown, she taught in the Department of Government at Harvard University, Massachusetts. Singh has received numerous fellowships from the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, the Center for Advanced Study for India (CASI) at the University of Pennsylvania, and the American Institute of Indian Studies. Her articles have been published in several journals, including World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, World Development, and Studies in Comparative International Development. Singh is the co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Indian Politics (2013).