Papers by Ekaterina (Kate) Fedorova
India as one of the world’s biggest democracy is also one of the most corrupt functioning democra... more India as one of the world’s biggest democracy is also one of the most corrupt functioning democracies. In the period of 2010-2012 India experienced an increase in the number of high-level scams that alerted international society and earned India a title of the “patronage democracy”, based on its exceptionally robust identity-based form of clientelism1. The synergy of bureaucracy and politicians have been implicated in the series of the grand scams, which in turn sparked a wave of anti-corruption movements. The Jan Lokpal Bill or Citizen's Ombudsman Bill was a civil society's initiative that gathered significant momentum as a part of the anti-corruption movement, propelled by the experiences of intolerable levels of corruption in both public and private sectors. This essay finds that the ultimate success of the anti-corruption movement on the national level is limited due to the fact that rural and lower classes are less predisposed to involve in practices of accessing and engaging with government policy and legislation due to the specific socio-political landscape. This essay demonstrates that rural and lower classes are more susceptible to populist identity politics, which in turn form extensive clientelistic networks through which multi-level corruption flourishes.This essay will begin with the analysis of the limits of the Right to Information Act as the fist piece of national anti-corruption legislation accomplished by the social movement. It will analyze India Against Corruption movement, as an unprecedented in the history of India’s social movements for two reasons. Firstly, it addresses a problem of corruption which affects all strata of population and governance. Secondly, it marks a momentous shift for India’s civil society, from social activism to political realm through a formation of the Aam Admi Party which runs on an exclusive anti-corruption platform. The conclusion will synthesize how specific socio-economic indicators along with deeply entrenched identity-based political affiliations would serve as obstacles to the mobilization of future supporters among Indian states for the Aam Admi Party.
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Caste-based reservations in India is a form of quota-based affirmative action, aimed to facilitat... more Caste-based reservations in India is a form of quota-based affirmative action, aimed to facilitate for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), as the primary beneficiaries of the reservation policies under the Indian Constitution. The proponents of caste-based reservation policy emphasize its symbolic importance which is for democracy to be representative and inclusive through fair distribution of power. The apparent motive behind legalization of affirmative action as recommended by Mandal’s Commission was to restore the past social inequalities, thus implementing caste-based reservations in education and bureaucracy. Mandal Commission report, a milestone in institutionalization of caste-reservation policy, has reinforced caste solidarity as the salient motive of voting in India thus executing it as an instrument of vote bank politics. Further analysis reveals that restoration of socio-economic inequalities were not the primary objectives of caste-based reservation, neither it aimed to eliminate casteism or define the objectives of the policy, but create an illusion of power. Through the analysis of India’s Northern states, the most populous state of Utter Pradesh (UP) specifically, this essay will demonstrate that changes in caste compositions of state government have not lead to improvement and equalization of socio-economic positions of individuals. Moreover, it will argue that caste, an ambiguous concept and instigator of stratification of Indian society, fosters the practices of corruptions and clientelism on both political and individuals levels.
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The modern economy is the cognitive network which is the product of certain way of organizing inf... more The modern economy is the cognitive network which is the product of certain way of organizing information, exchange and ways of knowing. British colonial state introduced the meaning of modern economy to India, though colonial management of the economy aimed to exploit India’s population, land and resources to benefit British national economic interest. Production of the modern economy was accomplished through the tools of standardization and jurisdiction that served the colonial state to measure and mobilize the population, resources and land to maximize profit accumulation for British economy. India’s modern economic exchange is still “embedded” and immersed in social relations and contradicts Polanyi’s account of modern economy. Modernization theory assumes the transition from premodern and traditional gemeinshaft (community) to advanced and modern gessellshaft (market society) (R. Birla 95). Indian economy is an exception from such dichotomy, it combines the elements of both “traditional” and “modern”. India’s economic ethos is characterized by the notion of gemeinshaft, which represents personal social interactions and communal values that stem from those interactions. Gessellshaft , as a product of modern economy introduced by the colonial state, is described by indirect interactions, impersonal and formal modern values.
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Hobbes, it will analyze Machiavelli's confounding concept of liberty, its meaning, expression and... more Hobbes, it will analyze Machiavelli's confounding concept of liberty, its meaning, expression and attainment through the dual analysis of states and the populace. Hobbesian absolute monarchy is suitable for the conservation and utilization of his orderly " negative liberty " with the sole goal of securing peace and security for its subjects. Machiavelli's advocacy for the republic, as the only " free " form of government that provides the best political conditions for the exercise of freedom, is undermined and contradicted by his own account of human nature. This paper argues that Hobbes provides a more plausible definition of freedom, thus his argument for absolute monarchy is more consistent and convincing when juxtaposed to Machiavelli's account of republic, while both depart from the same pragmatic vision of human nature. This paper reveals Machiavelli's true intentions behind his advocacy for the deliberative assembly, the instrumental implementation of which promises the mobilization of support and resources for the state's imperial expansion. Machiavelli is less concerned with liberty for its sake, he is more captivated with its role in pursuing the end goals of state's expansion and maximization of state's power. This paper will conclude by illuminating the ambiguity of Machiavelli's perplexed inclinations towards " liberty of necessity " and " liberty of choice " for the states, thus unveiling the incompatibility of security and liberty as a dilemma in contemporary international politics.
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This essay, through the Neo- Marxist approach, will argue that both social and architectural mode... more This essay, through the Neo- Marxist approach, will argue that both social and architectural modernity of New Delhi are the commercial response to the demands of an economic globalization, advancing the corporate capitalist machinery and underdeveloping the public sector. Realist approach will support the argument by revealing how the unjust practises and constitutional manipulations of New Delhi’s government and of the corporations designed the symbolic sites of New Delhi’s national pride and world recognition at the expense of deprivation of ordinary people.
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Drafts by Ekaterina (Kate) Fedorova
India as one of the world’s biggest democracy is also one of the most corrupt functioning democra... more India as one of the world’s biggest democracy is also one of the most corrupt functioning democracies. In the period of 2010-2012 India experienced an increase in the number of high-level scams that alerted international society and earned India a title of the “patronage democracy”, based on its exceptionally robust identity-based form of clientelism. The synergy of bureaucracy and politicians have been implicated in the series of the grand scams, which in turn sparked a wave of anti-corruption movements. The Jan Lokpal Bill or Citizen's Ombudsman Bill was a civil society's initiative that gathered significant momentum as a part of the anti-corruption movement, propelled by the experiences of intolerable levels of corruption in both public and private sectors. This essay finds that the ultimate success of the anti-corruption movement on the national level is limited due to the fact that rural and lower classes are less predisposed to involve in practices of accessing and engaging with government policy and legislation due to the specific socio-political landscape. This essay demonstrates that rural and lower classes are more susceptible to populist identity politics, which in turn form extensive clientelistic networks through which multi-level corruption flourishes.This essay will begin with the analysis of the limits of the Right to Information Act as the fist piece of national anti-corruption legislation accomplished by the social movement. It will analyze India Against Corruption movement, as an unprecedented in the history of India’s social movements for two reasons. Firstly, it addresses a problem of corruption which affects all strata of population and governance. Secondly, it marks a momentous shift for India’s civil society, from social activism to political realm through a formation of the Aam Admi Party which runs on an exclusive anti-corruption platform. The conclusion will synthesize how specific socio-economic indicators along with deeply entrenched identity-based political affiliations would serve as obstacles to the mobilization of future supporters among Indian states for the Aam Admi Party.
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Papers by Ekaterina (Kate) Fedorova
Drafts by Ekaterina (Kate) Fedorova