Book Review: Democracy and Its Institutions
| Author | Krishna Menon |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2321023013509157 |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
246 Book Reviews
Studies in Indian Politics, 1, 2 (2013): 241–257
are not meant to create a revolution but to prevent it. The question then is not to discover why the rights
revolution did not work for the poor but whether it was ever meant to.
Monica Sakhrani
Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights, Mumbai
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
E-mail: monicasakhrani@gmail.com
André Béteille, Democracy and Its Institutions. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 2012. 214 pages.
` 595.
DOI: 10.1177/2321023013509157
The study of politics with its focus on the excitement and turbulence of social movements and party
politics is in sharp contrast with the rather tedious study of institutions, such as, the parliament or the
judiciary. In this context, this book with its focus on some of the institutions of democracy will appeal to
social and political analysts, research scholars and journalists as it covers a wide canvas integrating
political theory, political philosophy, history and, of course, sociology.
Béteille, in a wonderfully written introduction, gives us a glimpse of his early professional years and
some of the important intellectual challenges that he faced—such as, the question of the separation of
facts from values. Béteille admits that while it is difficult to keep the two separate, he has tried to do so.
Scholars who are firmly convinced of the impossibility of this exercise should not turn away from this
book at this point. On the contrary, a close reading of the book is a lesson in how to carry one’s convic-
tions without unnecessary rhetoric or vitriol. Elegant prose and impressive scholarship characterize the
presentation of the author’s position. There is no escape, though, from the fact that his position leads him
to cautious and conservative choices in politics.
As a sociologist, Béteille cannot help hearing the clamour of middle class opinion in India that
bemoans the decline and indeed redundancy of most institutions of governance. He makes a strong case
for the institutions of governance in India and links the prospects of democracy to it.
In the first chapter titled ‘The Institutions of Democracy’, Béteille argues that many of the social and
economic preconditions required for the successful working of a democracy are sorely missing in India.
He contends that whereas in the West, institutions of governance often legitimized democratic changes,
in India the institutions of governance have the onerous responsibility of ushering changes essential for
the successful working of a democracy.
Béteille examines the contentious relationship between the Parliament and the Judiciary. He
observes that the unelected nature of the Judiciary does not make it less democratic, for it too is a crea-
ture of our Constitution. To disregard this is a populist position that would threaten and undermine the
institutional framework of democracy in India, warns Béteille. A healthy democracy Béteille writes is
contingent upon the existence of institutions that ensure that the rule of law is not overwhelmed by the
weight of numbers.
Béteille bemoans the tendency to view rules and procedures as obstacles. He is open to change that is
deliberated upon and in accordance with procedure. The question of who determines the procedure of
change and the terms of the deliberative process typically remains unaddressed by Béteille.
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