The 2009 Elections in the largest democracy in the world is entering its final lap. The results of the election will be announced on May 16, 2009. That’s 714 million registered voters deciding a total of 543 parliamentary seats. I find this quite humbling – think about the colossal effort to organise the elections and to ensure that it’s conducted fairly and (relatively) smoothly. And think about some of the “administrative difficulties”-type excuses that government bureaucrats, here and elsewhere, sometimes come up with. Where there is a collective will, there’s a way.

Here’s a list of 4 books on Indian politics and economics:

• The Future of India: Politics, Economics and Governance by Bimal Jalan. The author is one of India's leading economists, a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Member of the Upper House. He addresses the widely held presumption that India's future is as a developed country. The careful analysis posits that it is the combination of the politics, economics and governance of the country that will determine India's future.

• The Indian Renaissance: India's Rise after a Thousand Years of Decline by Sanjeev Sanyal. A successful Indian economist/banker explores with verve the history and post-1993 liberalisation of India. He makes a case that this will lead to a profound renaissance and India's re-emergence as an economic and cultural superpower after a thousand years of decline.

• Indian Democracy: Meanings and Practices edited by Rajendra Vora and Suhas Palshikar. India adopted a democratic constitution in 1950, but democracy as both a form of government and as an organizing principle remains a contentious concept in Indian political discourse. This book examines how Indian democracy has survived the challenges posed by illiteracy, poverty, secessionism and communalism. The fifteen essays in this volume look at how democracy is understood in India, how to expand the meaning of democracy and what developments have emerged. The contributors argue that the democracy in India is not "substantive" democracy and that it does not in fact represent the people.

• Political Economy of Federalism in India by Govinda Rao and Nirvikar Singh. This book argues that Indian federalism is at a crossroad. The contradictions, weaknesses and challenges of Central-State relations have been made evident by the emergence of regional political parties in India and market-based development in a globalising economy. This book deals with the system, institutions, and outcomes from the interplay of political and economic forces in Indian federalism. It significantly broadens the conceptual framework for analysing Indian federalism by exploring political elements and institutions and their strategic interaction with fiscal variables.

The 2009 Elections in the largest democracy in the world is entering its final lap. The results of the election will be announced on May 16, 2009. That’s 714 million registered voters deciding a total of 543 parliamentary seats. I find this quite humbling – think about the colossal effort to organise the elections and to ensure that it’s conducted fairly and (relatively) smoothly. And think about some of the “administrative difficulties”-type excuses that government bureaucrats, here and elsewhere, sometimes come up with. Where there is a collective will, there’s a way.

Here’s a list of 4 books on Indian politics and economics:

• The Future of India: Politics, Economics and Governance by Bimal Jalan. The author is one of India's leading economists, a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Member of the Upper House. He addresses the widely held presumption that India's future is as a developed country. The careful analysis posits that it is the combination of the politics, economics and governance of the country that will determine India's future.

• The Indian Renaissance: India's Rise after a Thousand Years of Decline by Sanjeev Sanyal. A successful Indian economist/banker explores with verve the history and post-1993 liberalisation of India. He makes a case that this will lead to a profound renaissance and India's re-emergence as an economic and cultural superpower after a thousand years of decline.

• Indian Democracy: Meanings and Practices edited by Rajendra Vora and Suhas Palshikar. India adopted a democratic constitution in 1950, but democracy as both a form of government and as an organizing principle remains a contentious concept in Indian political discourse. This book examines how Indian democracy has survived the challenges posed by illiteracy, poverty, secessionism and communalism. The fifteen essays in this volume look at how democracy is understood in India, how to expand the meaning of democracy and what developments have emerged. The contributors argue that the democracy in India is not "substantive" democracy and that it does not in fact represent the people.

• Political Economy of Federalism in India by Govinda Rao and Nirvikar Singh. This book argues that Indian federalism is at a crossroad. The contradictions, weaknesses and challenges of Central-State relations have been made evident by the emergence of regional political parties in India and market-based development in a globalising economy. This book deals with the system, institutions, and outcomes from the interplay of political and economic forces in Indian federalism. It significantly broadens the conceptual framework for analysing Indian federalism by exploring political elements and institutions and their strategic interaction with fiscal variables.

We are pleased to announce the publication of our latest book: Common Foundations of American and East Asian Modernisation: From Alexander Hamilton to Junichero Koizumi.

This book is an extensively referenced exploration of the influence outside the United States of the ideas of Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), the US's first Secretary of the Treasury. In it, Ian Austin rejects the position perpetuated by neo-classical economics about the universality of “free market” and “free trade” economics. Austin shows that the US, Great Britain and Germany had all employed state intervention to protect their national interests at various points in their economic histories. Meiji-era Japan, learning from the US and Germany - as convincingly shown by Austin - adopted similar state-driven economic policies to develop rapidly. Post-1945, the same system of state-driven economic planning and execution was crucial in the economic recovery and growth of Japan and its former colonies, Taiwan and South Korea. Thus, contrary to popular belief, Asian countries and the US share common foundations in state intervention to promote economic modernisation.

The book was written over a period of 5 years, and yet its launch in 2009 could not be more timely. The global financial crisis beginning in 2008 has driven states around the world, including “free market” advocates like the US and Great Britain, to take drastic and dramatic interventionist measures. Austin shows that such interventions are not new, and indeed, will continue to be necessary in the future.

The author, Ian Patrick Austin, is an Australian researcher on American and East Asian political economy and currently works for Edith Cowan University, Perth. He is the author of Pragmatism and Public Policy in East Asia: Origins, Adaptations and Developments (2001), Changing Faces of ASEAN (2002), Goh Keng Swee and Southeast Asian Governance (2004) and papers, chapters and bibliographies on Asian and American affairs. Ian has worked in Australian, Singaporean and British tertiary institutions, researching and lecturing on international political economy and management; as well as in international businesses focusing on consultancy, events management, marketing and logistics. He has public policy and electioneering experience from participation in federal, state and local elections in Australia.

We are pleased to announce the publication of our latest book: Common Foundations of American and East Asian Modernisation: From Alexander Hamilton to Junichero Koizumi.

This book is an extensively referenced exploration of the influence outside the United States of the ideas of Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), the US's first Secretary of the Treasury. In it, Ian Austin rejects the position perpetuated by neo-classical economics about the universality of “free market” and “free trade” economics. Austin shows that the US, Great Britain and Germany had all employed state intervention to protect their national interests at various points in their economic histories. Meiji-era Japan, learning from the US and Germany - as convincingly shown by Austin - adopted similar state-driven economic policies to develop rapidly. Post-1945, the same system of state-driven economic planning and execution was crucial in the economic recovery and growth of Japan and its former colonies, Taiwan and South Korea. Thus, contrary to popular belief, Asian countries and the US share common foundations in state intervention to promote economic modernisation.

The book was written over a period of 5 years, and yet its launch in 2009 could not be more timely. The global financial crisis beginning in 2008 has driven states around the world, including “free market” advocates like the US and Great Britain, to take drastic and dramatic interventionist measures. Austin shows that such interventions are not new, and indeed, will continue to be necessary in the future.

The author, Ian Patrick Austin, is an Australian researcher on American and East Asian political economy and currently works for Edith Cowan University, Perth. He is the author of Pragmatism and Public Policy in East Asia: Origins, Adaptations and Developments (2001), Changing Faces of ASEAN (2002), Goh Keng Swee and Southeast Asian Governance (2004) and papers, chapters and bibliographies on Asian and American affairs. Ian has worked in Australian, Singaporean and British tertiary institutions, researching and lecturing on international political economy and management; as well as in international businesses focusing on consultancy, events management, marketing and logistics. He has public policy and electioneering experience from participation in federal, state and local elections in Australia.