Events

(joint with Pavithra Suryanarayan).

Abstract: In ranked societies, high-rank groups often maintained their social dominance through their control of the state. What happens when they lose control of this instrument? We argue that dominant groups will develop more negative attitudes towards redistribution upon experiencing a loss of control of the bureaucracy. For these groups, losing the state signals a major peril: the possibility that redistributive policies now lead to social integration - including spatially - of their traditionally high-status community with other lower-ranked groups. We argue that this status threat should trigger renewed polarization, antagonism towards members of lower-ranked groups, and enhance efforts to guard spaces. We in turn argue that this reaction should eventually lead members of high rank groups to reject redistributive policies that some of their members may benefit from, as these may erase their dominant social status through greater integration. In order to evaluate these claims, we use a survey-experiment across a large sample of adults (N > 3600) in the Northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. We explore reactions to an informational prompt highlighting a change in the identity of bureaucrats over time, among both rich and poor members of a socially high-status (upper caste) group. We contrast their reactions to those of a second type of group – one that is economically similar to the high status group but is socially low ranked (low caste). This allows us to conjecture whether individuals with comparable economic standing react differently depending on whether they come from the high rank or low rank group.

The Political Science Seminar Series is convened by Pepper Culpepper, Ezequiel Gonzalez Ocantos and Jane Green. For more information on this or any of the seminars in the series, please contact politics.secretary@nuffield.ox.ac.uk.