Plural Societies, Shared Futures: Cross-Cultural Learning and Democratic Governance in South Asia

South Asia is among the world’s most socially and politically diverse regions, characterised by multiple languages, religions, ethnicities, castes, communities and political traditions. While much of the comparative literature approaches South Asian politics through the lenses of democratic uncertainty, institutional stress, conflict and political instability, this panel adopts a more constructive perspective. It asks what South Asian societies can learn from one another about governing diversity, strengthening democratic institutions and developing more inclusive and responsive forms of political participation. The shared diversity can be a resource to handle challenges that emanate from specific locales.
Again, the existing metrics and normative frameworks used to assess democratic governance in plural societies may no longer adequately capture the nature of emerging political and social transformations in these multilayer societies. Technological change, digital communication and virtual platforms have altered not only the arenas in which democratic participation takes place, but also the ways in which citizens, communities, states and institutions interact with one another. Digital spaces have created new forms of political participation, representation, deliberation and collective action, while simultaneously reshaping established understandings of citizenship, accountability, publicness and political authority. The co-existence of modern and traditional social and cultural norms further adds to the complexity of response by individuals, institutions and collectives. These transformations require us to reconsider how democratic governance and pluralism are conceptualised and evaluated in different locales within South Asia.
The panel would welcome research outputs on local governance; power-sharing arrangements; marginalised group representation; gender and youth participation; welfare and inclusive governance; civil society and social movements; community-based institutions; inter-community dialogue; citizenship practices; and digital and participatory governance.
The panel also invites contributions that examine how technology and virtual platforms are changing relationships between societies and institutions. Digital networks increasingly connect citizens across geographical and political boundaries, create new transnational publics and enable new forms of cross-cultural exchange.