In this Book

summary

Most democratic theorists have taken Western political traditions as their primary point of reference, although the growing field of comparative political theory has shifted this focus. In Decolonizing Democracy, comparative theorist Christine Keating interprets the formation of Indian democracy as a progressive example of a “postcolonial social contract.” In doing so, she highlights the significance of reconfigurations of democracy in postcolonial polities like India and sheds new light on the social contract, a central concept within democratic theory from Locke to Rawls and beyond. Keating’s analysis builds on the literature developed by feminists like Carole Pateman and critical race theorists like Charles Mills that examines the social contract’s egalitarian potential. By analyzing the ways in which the framers of the Indian constitution sought to address injustices of gender, race, religion, and caste, as well as present-day struggles over women’s legal and political status, Keating demonstrates that democracy’s social contract continues to be challenged and reworked in innovative and potentially more just ways.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Front Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Title Page
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Copyright
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Table of Contents
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. vii-ix
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Introduction: Decolonizing Democracy
  2. pp. 1-17
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 1 Fraternalist and Paternalist Approaches to Colonial Rule
  2. pp. 18-36
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 2 Resistant Convergences: Anticolonial Feminist Nationalism
  2. pp. 37-58
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 3 Framing the Postcolonial Social Contract
  2. pp. 59-76
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 4 Challenging Political Marginalization: The Women’s Reservation Bill
  2. pp. 77-91
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 5 Legal Pluralism and Gender Justice
  2. pp. 92-107
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Conclusion: Building a Nondomination Contract
  2. pp. 108-120
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 121-131
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 133-142
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 143-155
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Back Cover
  2. p. 168
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.