The Political Outsider: Indian Democracy and the Lineages of Populism

Description

Title: The Political Outsider: Indian Democracy and the Lineages of Populism
Author: Srirupa Roy
Publisher: Navayana Publishing, 2025
Format: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN-13: 9788198067036

The Political Outsider by Srirupa Roy is a sharp political science study of Indian democracy, populism, and the rise of outsider politics. Roy examines why democratic systems increasingly reward leaders who present themselves as redemptive outsiders fighting a corrupt or broken political order.

Using India as the central case, the book traces the language of “curative democracy” from the long 1970s and the Emergency to contemporary politics. It looks at how both authoritarian and democratic actors have claimed to repair democracy by attacking its institutions, elites, and established forms of politics.

The book connects Indian political history with wider global patterns of populism, including the appeal of strongman leaders and anti-establishment campaigns. It is especially useful for readers interested in Indian politics, Narendra Modi, Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party, populism, democratic crisis, and political theory.