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'Unfinished Business': Historic Complementarities, Political Competition and Ethnic Violence in Gujarat
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'Unfinished Business': Historic Complementarities, Political Competition and Ethnic Violence in Gujarat

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  • Jha, Saumitra

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

I examine how the historical legacies of inter-ethnic complementarity and competition interact with contemporary electoral competition in shaping patterns of ethnic violence. Using local comparisons within Gujarat, a single Indian state known for both its non-violent local traditions and for widespread ethnic pogroms in 2002, I provide evidence that where political competition was focused upon towns where ethnic groups have historically competed, there was a rise in the propensity for ethnic rioting and increased electoral support for the incumbent party complicit in the violence. However, where political competition was focused in towns that historically enjoyed inter-ethnic complementarities, there were fewer ethnic riots, and these towns also voted against the incumbent. These historic legacies proved to be important predictors of the identity of the winner even in very close electoral races. I argue that these results reflect the role local inter-ethnic economic relations can play in altering the nature and the benefits of political campaigns that encourage ethnic violence.

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  • Jha, Saumitra, 2014. "'Unfinished Business': Historic Complementarities, Political Competition and Ethnic Violence in Gujarat," Research Papers 2144, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:2144
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    3. Stanley L. Winer & J. Stephen Ferris & Bharatee Bhusana Dash & Pinaki Chakraborty, 2021. "Political competitiveness and the private–public structure of public expenditure: a model and empirics for the Indian States," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(6), pages 1430-1471, December.
    4. Wayne Geerling & Gary Magee & Russell Smyth, 2021. "The evolution of democratic tradition and regional variation in resistance in Nazi Germany," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(4), pages 1320-1344, April.
    5. Boone, Catherine, 2017. "Sons of the soil conflict in Africa: institutional determinants of ethnic conflict over land," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69794, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Arthur Silve, 2018. "Asset Complementarity, Resource Shocks, and the Political Economy of Property Rights," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 62(7), pages 1489-1516, August.
    7. Irena Grosfeld & Seyhun Orcan Sakalli & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2020. "Middleman Minorities and Ethnic Violence: Anti-Jewish Pogroms in the Russian Empire," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(1), pages 289-342.
    8. Bharatee Bhusana, Ferris, J Stephen Dash & Stanley L. Winer, 2018. "Measuring Electoral Competitiveness: With Application to the Indian States," CESifo Working Paper Series 7216, CESifo.
    9. Iyer, Sriya & Shrivastava, Anand, 2018. "Religious riots and electoral politics in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 104-122.
    10. Theresa Finley & Mark Koyama, 2018. "Plague, Politics, and Pogroms: The Black Death, the Rule of Law, and the Persecution of Jews in the Holy Roman Empire," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(2), pages 253-277.
    11. Francesco D’Acunto & Marcel Prokopczuk & Michael Weber, 2019. "Historical Antisemitism, Ethnic Specialization, and Financial Development," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(3), pages 1170-1206.
    12. Iyer, Sriya & Shrivastava, Anand, 2018. "Religious riots and electoral politics in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 104-122.
    13. Bottasso, Anna & Cerruti, Gianluca & Conti, Maurizio & Santagata, Marta, 2024. "Sailing Through History: The Legacy of Medieval Sea Trade On Migrant Perception and Extreme Right Voting," IZA Discussion Papers 16996, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Rohit Ticku, 2015. "Riot Rewards? Study of BJP's Electoral Performance and Hindu Muslim Riots," IHEID Working Papers HEIDWP19-2015, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    15. D'Acunto, Francesco & Ghosh, Pulak & Jain, Rajiv & Rossi, Alberto G., 2022. "How costly are cultural biases?," LawFin Working Paper Series 34, Goethe University, Center for Advanced Studies on the Foundations of Law and Finance (LawFin).
    16. Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata, 2017. "1807: Economic shocks, conflict and the slave trade," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 66-76.
    17. Boone, Catherine, 2017. "Sons of the Soil Conflict in Africa: Institutional Determinants of Ethnic Conflict Over Land," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 276-293.
    18. Dayanandan, Ajit & Donker, Han & Nofsinger, John, 2019. "The role of caste for board membership, CEO, and interlocking," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 29-41.
    19. Victoire Girard & Nicolas Berman & Mathieu Couttenier, 2020. "Natural resources and the salience of ethnic identities," NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series wp2007, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
    20. Belmonte, Alessandro & Di Lillo, Armando, 2021. "Backlash against affirmative action: Evidence from the South Tyrolean package," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • N25 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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