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The Association of Electoral Volatility and Religious Riots in India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Prashant Hosur Suhas Open the ORCID record for Prashant Hosur Suhas [Opens in a new window]  and
Vasabjit Banerjee Open the ORCID record for Vasabjit Banerjee [Opens in a new window]
Prashant Hosur Suhas
Affiliation:
Clarkson University
Vasabjit Banerjee*
Affiliation:
Mississippi State University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Vasabjit Banerjee, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS. E-mail: vasabjit@gmail.com
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Abstract

Why are religious riots between Hindus and Muslims endemic in some states of India and not in others? Scholarship on the topic is divided between those arguing that electoral competition increases the occurrence of such riots and those arguing that electoral competition decreases the occurrence of such riots. Both types of explanations assume a relationship between political parties and religious violence, but they ignore voting behavior. This paper accounts for party system instability or change, measured in terms of electoral volatility, to argue that electoral volatility in the Indian party system is a key overlooked determinant of religious violence. Specifically, higher levels of electoral volatility, implying high switching of party allegiances by voters, may indicate the process of ethnic outbidding that causes violence.

Type
Article
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , December 2021 , pp. 787 - 808
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association

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