ABSTRACT
This chapter builds on the micro view of governance (Figure 1.2) with the macro context of the state in which these games are embedded. I argue here that the state is a crucial exogenous explanatory variable for the state of orderly rule. The national state with its ensemble of institutional arrangements, the elite decision makers at the levels of the nation, region and locality whom it recruits, trains, promotes or sanctions depending on their performance (particularly with regard to governance), its mores and core values affect the state of governance through strategic initiatives in the crucial areas of security, welfare and identity. The monopoly of legitimate violence, for those subject to the authority of the state, carries the ultimate responsibility for orderly rule as the other side of the coin. Hence, even though elite strategies play a key role in the explanatory model that underpins this study, the state, seen as an ensemble of institutions, authoritative practices, leadership and high politics, deserves careful investigation as a crucial exogenous variable that is deeply significant for governance at all levels of the system. Consequently, I analyse the implications of the specificity of the Indian state in terms of its evolution and institutional arrangement for governance in this chapter before we move on to the analytical narratives of the regions in the next chapter.
