Rethinking clientelism: politics of service delivery in rural India

Clientelism is often blamed for public service delivery failures in developing countries. While the top-down drivers of political support in exchange for service delivery for specific constituents is well-documented, local grassroots influence and the effect of democratic mobilisation by local communities are less well-understood. This blog looks at the value of combining top-down influence with bottom-up community mobilsation to exert stronger pressures on improving anti-poverty programme outcomes.