An Analysis of the Rise and Fall of the "Third Force"

The South Asia Center’s Spring 2011 Speaker Series continues Tuesday, January 31 at 12:30 p.m. in 341 Eggers Hall. Dr. Sanjay Ruparelia, from the Department of Political Science at The New School, will talk about the rise of communist, regional, and lower caste-oriented socialist parties in modern Indian democracy.  

In spite of their rise, the socialist parties of India have fallen short of establishing a 'third force' in the Indian party politics dominated by the Congress and the Hindu nationalist party. On this backdrop, Ruparelia will discuss the politics, policies, and performance of Third Front governments in New Delhi, and to what extent these parties have reshaped the agendas, strategies, and prospects of their national rivals. The speaker will also address why the idea of a third force, despite its decline, persists in contemporary Indian democracy.

The talk will confront the paradoxes of power in federal parliamentary systems, which create incentives to forge national coalition governments like India, yet decrease their chances of surviving.

Ruparelia earned his PhD in Politics from Cambridge University, and his research and teaching focuses on democratic theory, philosophies of explanation, comparative politics, political economy of development and modern South Asia.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science and the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs.

For the complete Speaker Series schedule, click here.