Jos Mooij: Economic Reform And Political Interpretations: A Review of the Literature on the Politics of the Reform Process in India. November, 2001.

India had experienced two major attempts to liberalise the economy - the first one took place in the 1980s; the second one started in 1991. The first exercise failed by and large, but the second one was more successful, even though, at first sight, the political conditions were less favourable. The reforms did not stop when the Congress (I) government was replaced in 1996 by a coalition headed by the Janta Dal, or in 1998, when a coalition led by the Bharateeya Janata Party took over.

This paper critically reviews the various approaches within the political science literature that try to explain the consolidation of the reforms in the 1990s. It proceeds to the elucidate why this could happen; and why there was relatively little opposition; and what has been the impact of the reform on political configurations and struggles. In conclusion, some gaps in the literature and areas for further investigations are identified (Working paper No. 41).