37 – Contentious Currents: Non-State Actors, Democratic Decline and Resilience in South Asia

October 2, 2025
8:30 am
H14
Studies on social movements and the public sphere often presume an inherently democratizing impact. However, empirical evidence suggests that social mobilization and contentious politics have a complex, ambivalent relationship with democracy. On the one hand, they facilitate democracy by promoting accountability and fostering social cohesion by offering citizens space and means to address concerns, advocate for rights and influence public policy. On the other hand, some movements engage in contentious politics, employing tactics such as disinformation, violence, and hate rhetoric, which can undermine democratic norms and exacerbate polarization. This panel explores the multi-faceted and complex roles that non-state actors play in shaping democratic decline and resilience in South Asia. Existing scholarship has predominantly focused on state-centric mechanisms in driving democratic erosion, analyzing how government policies, legal frameworks and institutional practices undermine democratic norms and consolidate power. In contrast, the influence of non-state actors—particularly civil society organizations, religious groups, and social movements— often operating at the intersection of civic engagement and authoritarian resistance remains underexplored. Utilizing a comparative case study approach across South Asia, the panel aims to identify both commonalities and unique variations in how non-state actors shape the democratic landscape, challenging existing generalizations and refining theoretical frameworks. Each paper will analyse specific actors and the mechanisms by which they impact the democratic fabric of their respective states, elucidating the varied and evolving relationships between these actors and the state. By unpacking these intricate dynamics, this interdisciplinary panel seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of how non-state actors can either bolster or challenge democratic institutions in South Asia. In doing so, it aims to advance broader theoretical discussions on the role non-state actors play in processes of democratization and autocratization.

Convenors

Pravin Prakas
Julia Wießmann

Presentations

Autocratization and the Dynamics of Pro-Governmental Counter-Mobilization: The 2024 Protests in Bangladesh
Wiessmann Julia - Institute of Political Sciences, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Digital Architectures of Deception: Mapping Misinformation Networks in 2024 Indian Electoral Discourse through Actor-Network Theory
VANAPALLI SAI KUMAR - JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY, New Delhi, India
Kollabathini Dr. Siddhardha - Rashtriya Raksha University, Rashtriya Raksha University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
India’s Religious Ethnocracy: Hindutva Vigilantism and Police Violence in Uttar Pradesh
sharoff Prakkash - SOAS, SOAS, University of London, London, United Kingdom
Transnational Legitimacy: Diasporic Hindu Nationalism, Right-Wing Narratives, and Democratic Erosion in the UK and India
Nagpaul Dipti - N/A, N/A, N/A, India
Electoral fairness protests and hybrid regime stability in Pakistan
Raza Marzia - Institut für Politische Wissenschaft, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Tamil Nadu’s Sandwiched Democracy: Subnational Democratic Resilience in India
Prakash Pravin - Institute of Political Science, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany