PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Representation & Participation
How big a role does identity play in determining political participation in the developing countries? Discuss your answer with suitable illustrations.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
West runs on rule of law → developing world runs on identity → identity fills the gap legal institutions weakly rooted → identity becomes the key channel of participation → decisive role
Body flow
Pye: non-Western process communal / loyalty- based → mobilise on identity, not issues → Chatterjee: civil society vs political society → political society (hawkers, slum dwellers) thrives on identity → India (Kothari's caste + Ambedkar’s Dalit mobilisation, affirmative action) → Nigeria (Anderson's “imagined communities” / ethnic) → Lebanon (confessional sectarian quota)
Counter-view
Huntington's double edge → empowers the marginalised vs deepens divisions / weakens national unity
Conclusion routes
role large and defining, not marginal worth conditional → widens participation or hardens cleavages
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
