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Locating Leadership and Political Will in Social Policy: The Story of India’s MGNREGA

Author

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  • Ujjwal Krishna

    (Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University, Australia)

  • Chris Roche

    (Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University, Australia)

Abstract

The term ‘political will’ is often conveniently used to explain the success or failure of any policy or programme. It has emerged as the “sine qua non of policy success which is never defined except by its absence” (Hammergren, 1998, p. 12). Therefore, a structured examination of the term is necessary to analyse social policy and programming. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted by India’s United Progressive Alliance government in 2005, offers a compelling case to examine the role of ‘political will’ in the formulation of a major programme. The evolution of the MGNREGA, which has been described by the World Bank as the largest antipoverty state-run employment-generation scheme anywhere in the world (Dutta, Murgai, Ravallion, & van de Walle, 2014), depended significantly on leadership and political commitment in the legislature and the executive, as well as their coordination and substantive engagement with civil society, represented through non-governmental organisations and activists. We explore the complex power relations between the diverse range of actors involved in the MGNREGA, and gauge the role of leadership and political will in the formulation of the MGNREGA, as carried out by the United Progressive Alliance government between 2005 and 2014, in contrast to the manner in which it was reframed and retained by its successor dispensation, the National Democratic Alliance from 2014 onwards. We then examine the MGNREGA, utilising a framework which expands our understanding of political will as being contingent upon leadership at the individual, collective and societal levels (Hudson, Mcloughlin, Roche, & Marquette, 2018), thereby providing us with greater explanatory power.

Suggested Citation

  • Ujjwal Krishna & Chris Roche, 2020. "Locating Leadership and Political Will in Social Policy: The Story of India’s MGNREGA," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 168-179.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:8:y:2020:i:4:p:168-179
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrews, Matthew R. & McConnell, Jesse & Wescott, Alison, 2010. "Development as Leadership-led Change," Scholarly Articles 4449099, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Matt Andrews & Jesse McConnell & Alison Wescott, 2010. "Development as Leadership-led Change," CID Working Papers 206, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    3. Shankar, Shylashri & Gaiha, Raghav, 2013. "Battling Corruption: Has NREGA Reached India's Rural Poor?," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198085003.
    4. Deepta Chopra, 2015. "Political commitment in India’s social policy implementation: Shaping the performance of MGNREGA," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-050-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    5. Andrews, Matt & McConnell, Jesse & Wescott, Alison, 2010. "Development as Leadership-Led Change--A Report for the Global Leadership Initiative and the World Bank Institute (WBI)," Working Paper Series rwp10-009, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    6. Claire Mcloughlin & Richard Batley, 2012. "The politics of what works in service delivery: an evidence-based review," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-006-12, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    7. Anderson, Michael & Branchflower, Andrew & Moreno-Torres, Magui & Besancon, Marie, 2005. "Measuring Capacity And Willingness For Poverty Reduction In Fragile States," PRDE Working Papers 12820, Department for International Development (DFID) (UK).
    8. Matt Andrews & Jesse McConnell & Alison Wescott, 2010. "Development as Leadership-led Change : A Report for the Global Leadership Initiative," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2488, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Hudson & Nicolas Lemay-Hébert & Claire Mcloughlin & Chris Roche, 2020. "Leadership and Change in Asia-Pacific: Where Does Political Will Come From?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 131-135.

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