ABSTRACT
This chapter examines whether neo-authoritarianism is truly on the rise in India, the world’s largest electoral democracy, or whether this is merely a claim made by critics. Its assessment focuses on media coverage of Narendra Modi’s centralizing leadership style, capturing and bypassing of other government institutions, intimidation of and restrictions on civil society, and transformation of state–media relations with particular attention to Modi’s rule as chief minister of Gujarat state, the transition period in 2014 when Modi first became India’s prime minister and his re-election in 2019. It finds that although many democratic deficits were already present under previous Indian governments, under Modi’s rule neo-authoritarianism in India has been both a critical discourse and a growing force.
