Political Change: India (L2095)
30 credits, Level 6
Autumn teaching
Indian politics, society and economy have transformed since independence in 1947. Today, it’s a major emerging economy with a developed party system and regular elections.
India’s ability to function despite social divisions, poverty and illiteracy makes it an important research area. It helps scholars understand politics in a large, diverse country with a shifting party system.
You’ll explore key themes in Indian politics and society to understand political change since independence. You’ll analyse how the relationship between political actors and the wider society has evolved through:
- the rise of ethnic parties and identity politics
- the growing importance of state-level parties
- the influence of civil society movements.
You’ll also study how political parties respond to the demands of these groups and movements.
Key themes include:
- the shift from a single-party system to a fragmented, multi-party competitive system
- political importance of underprivileged groups, ethnic parties and identity politics
- the rise of regional parties and coalition politics
- the growing influence of civil society, mass movements and media
- the key challenges facing the nation today
- the main factors driving political change and how this has shaped political actors.
You’ll mainly use empirical approach, supported by theory and comparative analysis.
Teaching
Assessment
70%: Written assessment (Essay)
Contact hours and workload
This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 30 hours of contact time and about 270 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.
We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.
We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.
Courses
This module is offered on the following courses: