This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the motivation behind corruption and ill-governance in countries, such as India. It presents a sound theoretical structure outlining the journey through various phases of elitism, counter-elitism, competitive populism, and, finally, good governance.

The political willingness to bring in good governance, the book argues, depends on the electoral importance of the middle classes. Ironically, however, such a middle class emerges out of the policies of distributing private goods, including education, facilitated through counter-elite capture and competitive populism.

This book emphasises that despite the emergence of the middle class in India as a whole, during the last two decades, their percentage and role in many states are currently limited. The continuation of high levels of ill-governance and corruption is explained here in terms of the role they play in shaping the central government, and also many state governments in India.

Introduction Elite Capture Capture of Governments by Social Counter-Elites Under-Class Capture of the State Competitive Populism Moving Beyond Competitive Populism Epilogue Bibliography Index