The latest social science books reviewed by academics and experts
The latest social science books reviewed by academics and experts
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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
The latest social science books reviewed by academics and experts
0 comments | 8 shares
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
In Migrants and Machine Politics, Adam Michael Auerbach and Tariq Thachil examine how India’s urban poor navigate and shape political networks to secure representation and accountability within city politics. This in-depth, multi-method study challenges dominant narratives of top-down political organisation and parses the intricate dynamics of resource allocation in rapidly urbanising contexts, writes Suraj Beri.
Migrants and Machine Politics: How India’s Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness. Adam Michael Auerbach and Tariq Thachil. Princeton University Press. 2023.
Migrants and Machine Politics examines the complex dynamics of urban political networks in India and the role played by the urban poor in shaping them. The authors challenge conventional narratives that portray the urban poor as passive recipients, pawns of political machinations or victims of local strongmen.
The authors argue that the urban poor actively construct and navigate political networks to secure representation and accountability within city politics.
Instead, they argue that the urban poor actively construct and navigate political networks to secure representation and accountability within city politics. The book revolves around the formation and functioning of political machines, with a focus on clients, brokers and patrons, in India’s rapidly expanding cities. By “political machine” they mean the political networks through which residents connect to brokers and political leaders. Auerbach and Thachil situate their work within the broader domain of urban political sociology, contributing to the understanding of how slum residents engage with political networks, political systems and urban bureaucracies in the Global South.
Their methodological approach combines ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, surveys, and choice experiments to explore the political networks, machine politics, the organised and strategic use of networks of brokers to mobilise support and deliver services within urban slums. These machines are characterised by high levels of competition, active engagement from residents, and a focus on everyday problem-solving rather than mere vote-buying or ethnic favouritism. Across three years, they studied the slums of Jaipur and Bhopal, engaging with residents, party workers, and political elites (37). They conducted hundreds of interviews with slum residents, brokers, and political patrons, providing first-hand accounts of their motivations, strategies, and experiences. They also collected documentary evidence, such as petitions, correspondence, and political ephemera, to further understand the claim-making processes and the role of brokers in mediating between residents and the state (39). They also conducted large-scale surveys, covering nearly 4,000 respondents across 110 settlements in 2012 and 2015.
The book’s first theme looks at the formation of political machines within slums, focus on two main political parties: Congress and the BJP. The authors argue that these machines are not merely top-down structures imposed by political parties but are formed through a bottom-up process. Brokers compete for the support of slum residents by providing everyday problem-solving services rather than just electoral incentives like vote-buying. This theme highlights the agency of slum residents in selecting their local leaders based on efficacy rather than ethnicity or partisanship (6-7).
Brokers act as critical intermediaries between slum residents and political patrons, distributing material resources and services. Patrons select them based on their ability to fulfil resident requests and mobilise support during elections. (9-10). The authors go on to examine relationships between patrons and brokers. Political elites called patrons select brokers based on their popularity among residents and their potential to boost the patron’s credit-claiming capabilities. The authors underscore the importance of personal reputations in the political landscape of urban slums, where formal party support is often limited (15-16).
The authors argue that the allocation of resources is heavily influenced by the competitive nature of brokerage and the ability of brokers to advocate for their communities.
Auerbach and Thachil then consider how public goods are distributed in slums. They argue that the allocation of resources is heavily influenced by the competitive nature of brokerage and the ability of brokers to advocate for their communities. This process is not solely driven by party directives but also by the brokers’ capacity to make compelling claims for their neighbourhoods (16-17). The book’s final key theme discusses the exclusion and disfavour of certain groups within the slums. Women, religious minorities and recent migrants are often disadvantaged in the selection processes for leadership and resource allocation, highlighting the limitations and biases inherent in these political networks (16-17). The authors provide a unique interpretation by emphasising the bottom-up formation of political machines, challenging the conventional top-down perspective. This perspective shifts the focus from political parties to the agency of residents and brokers. (6-7, 10).
The key theoretical approach in Auerbach and Thachil’s work is the theory of political brokerage and clientelism and active citizenship from below.
The key theoretical approach in Auerbach and Thachil’s work is the theory of political brokerage and clientelism and active citizenship from below. The authors integrate this with theories of distributive politics to explain how resources are allocated in slums. This framework highlights the importance of competitive selection within machine politics and the role of personal reputations and everyday problem-solving efficacy in the political processes of urban slums (6-7, 15). Auerbach and Thachil demonstrate that attributes related to problem-solving efficacy, such as education and occupation, can be as influential among residents, if not more so, than shared ethnicity. This insight adds complexity to the understanding of identity politics in India.
The authors introduce the concept of “competitive selection” as a key framework for understanding the formation of political networks in urban slums. They argue that these networks emerge through interlocking processes of selection, involving residents, brokers, and patrons (13-16). This bottom-up perspective challenges top-down theories of machine politics and highlights the agency of the urban poor in shaping the structures that govern them.
In Chapter Four, the authors analyse how party patrons select brokers to incorporate into their local organisations. They find that patrons balance the need for locally influential brokers with ensuring loyalty within their factional teams (149-155). They explore the political dynamics and highly competitive environments operating within urban slums in India, focusing on the role and functioning of political elites.
Chapter Five investigates how patrons assess claims brought by brokers on behalf of slum residents, showing that they privilege claims that lend themselves to personal ‘credit-claiming’ ie, providing water tanks to the residents or ration cards (179-180). The selection of brokers is based on their ability to mobilise support and solve everyday problems for residents, highlighting the bottom-up nature of political machine formation. Brokers gain access to resources and political backing, while political elites gain reliable intermediaries who can deliver votes and prefer group-based demands of residents to help build credit-claiming among the maximum number of slum residents. This symbiotic relationship ensures a steady flow of support and resources between different levels of the political hierarchy.
The authors’ emphasis on the bottom-up formation of political machines, the critical role of brokers, and the competitive nature of resource allocation provides a fresh perspective on politics within urban margins and political brokerage.
In Chapter Six, Auerbach and Thachil offer a nuanced view of how the urban poor navigate the complex landscape of city politics. Their work also sheds light on the limitations of these networks in improving the lives of the urban poor, such as the persistent informality and fragmented politics that machine networks can entrench (237-238).
One of the limitations of this work is the overemphasis on the political agency of brokers and slum residents. The broader structural constraints imposed by political parties and state institutions is arguably underexplored. The interplay between these macro-level forces and the micro-level actions of brokers could provide a more comprehensive understanding of urban political dynamics. Additionally, the study’s geographic scope is limited, focusing only on Jaipur and Bhopal, limiting the ability to extrapolate, the book’s findings to other urban contexts in India or the Global South seem limited. Migrants and Machine Politics is a seminal work that offers a detailed and insightful analysis of urban politics in Indian slums. The authors’ emphasis on the bottom-up formation of political machines, the critical role of brokers, and the competitive nature of resource allocation provides a fresh perspective on politics within urban margins and political brokerage. Auerbach and Thachil’s in-depth, multi-method approach provides a comprehensive understanding of the political realities faced by India’s urban poor. Their findings challenge dominant narratives and offer new insights into the dynamics of representation and accountability in rapidly urbanising contexts.
Note: This review gives the views of the author and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Image: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leads a TMC campaign rally ahead of parliamentary elections in 2024 in Calcutta, India. © Saikat Paul on Shutterstock.
Dr. Suraj Beri is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, Nagaland Central University. He has a PhD in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His area of interest includes social inequality, elite studies, urban spaces, development and politics.
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Migrants and Machine Politics – review – LSE Review of Books – The London School of Economics and Political Science
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