Description
Book SynopsisThis book investigates how people construct meaning and motivation for political action. Building on Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph's seminal scholarship of India, it develops the concept of situated knowledge to argue that people's capacity to empathize and dehumanize as well as their engagement in ongoing discourses and ideational power shape their political action. The volume illuminates contemporary Indian politics by showing how political leadership can transformpeople's understandings and cause dramatic political transformation.
Trade ReviewThis volume brings together the best minds in the field to celebrate the scholarly legacy of Susanne and Lloyd Rudolph and advance their own novel contributions. Erudite and intelligent, the essays ought to attract the attention of specialists in Indian politics and those interested in interpretive approaches in the social sciences. * Atul Kohli, David K.E. Bruce Professor of International Affairs, Princeton University, USA *
What a bounty! Stimulated by the deep intellectual legacy of two remarkable scholars and teachers, this rich harvest advances our knowledge of their cherished India while both broadening and intensifying our means as students of comparative politics. Like the Rudolphs, these essays refuse any simple binary distinguishing interpretive social science from analytical considerations of political institutions, social structures, and political economy. * Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University, USA; President, American Political Science Association, 2005-6 *
This book uses deep contextual knowledge to address vital issues in comparative politics — institutions, violence, identity, class, culture and leadership. It is a fitting tribute to Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph, social scientists who demonstrated the value of situated knowledge in what they wrote and how they lived. * Kanchan Chandra, Professor of Politics, New York University, USA *
An invaluable demonstration of how humanistic social science can provide potent insights into the most challenging developments in India and the world today. * Rogers Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, USA; President, American Political Science Association, 2018-19 *
