Theorising Policy Processes in the Global South: A View from India

We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming guest lecture with Prof Suraj Jacob of the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) in Trivandrum, India.

Two views of ‘policy’ are common in India. One sees policy as the intent expressed by a policy authority (policy-as-intent). Another view expands policy upstream and downstream of intent: intent emerges from a swirl of ideas and interests, gets translated into implementation design, and leads to different implementation practices (policy-as-hourglass). While these views are intuitive, they do not adequately describe or explain how policy works in India. This research project (jointly with policymaker Babu Jacob) develops an alternative view. Intent-setting, design, and implementation occur in different policy spaces each with its own players, rhythms, and tendencies—but there is also a hierarchy among policy players. We introduce the concept of ‘policy schemas’ to understand these spaces and their relationships. We use policy schemas and our understanding of the relationships between policy spaces to develop an approach to policy history and apply it to forest policy and forest rights in India over the last 150 years.

This is the inaugural lecture in Leeds for the new CGD – CDS international partnership. Prof Caroline Dyer will chair the session. Prof Richard Beardsworth (HoS POLIS) and Ankit Vyas (doctoral student) will be the two panel respondents. There will be refreshments for those joining in person.

Please register by completing this form. We will send an invitation via Teams the day before the event.

We look forward to seeing many of you there!