Subrata Kumar Mitra Book order

India is emerging as a significant power in a multipolar world, and this book highlights the country's unique political ideas and strategic thinking that fuel this ascent. Central to these ideas is Kautilya's Arthashastra, a foundational text of political science and a premodern treatise on statecraft. Despite its importance, Kautilya has often been overlooked in political science and international relations, frequently reduced to the label of the 'Indian Machiavelli,' which fails to capture his profound contributions. Kautilya, a contemporary of Aristotle, offers insights that can be more aptly compared to Aristotle's works. Influential figures in Western political theory, such as Max Weber and Hans J. Morgenthau, have acknowledged Kautilya's significance. However, in South Asia, he remains largely absent from mainstream academic discourse and public life. Nonetheless, India's institutions and processes are deeply rooted in the political heritage articulated in the Arthashastra. The book explores themes like the 'modernity of tradition' and the 're-use of the past' to address contemporary political challenges, illustrating how these concepts contribute to the resilience and stability of India's hybrid political institutions and democratic system.

The book addresses the very topical subject of citizen making. By delving into a range of sources - among them survey questions, historical documents, political theory, architectural design, and public policy - the book provides a unique analysis of when and why citizenship has taken root in India. Each chapter highlights the constant innovation of citizenship that has occurred in India's legal, political, social, economic and aesthetic arrangements as well as providing the basis for comparative analysis across South Asian cases and the European Union.

This book traces the disciplinary development of political sociology and the transdisciplinary research into the overlapping issues involving politics and society. The contributions cover overviews of the historical, methodological, and theoretical development of this academic discipline. Successes, as well as failures, in past unexplored areas, and salient issues in ongoing research, are also highlighted. Contributions Taking Stock of Political Sociology * Political Culture at a Crossroads? * Parties, Interest Groups and Social Shall Change be Midwife to Truth? * Socio-Political Elites, Classes and Democracy * Contemporary Approaches to the Study of the State * and Political Old Concerns and New Directions.

This book examines how India has been able to sustain democratic governance while undergoing substantial social, economic and political changes through a neo-institutional rational choice model of governance, bounded by local culture and context.

Reprint of 1997 edition. 12 essays explore the theme of decay and re-emergence of institutions in South Asia. Issues addressed challenge to the democratic polity in India and institutional response to it, the conflicting interpretations of legitimacy and their impact on the stability of state in Pakistan ad Bangladesh, recent democratization and crisis of institution building in Nepal and her relations with India.