ABSTRACT

Around the world, the practice of politics has taken a turn toward “professionalisation.” A key political actor that is facilitating this change is the political consultant. However, despite the influential role that consultants play in contemporary politics, they have been subject to little scholarly attention. We introduce a study on political consultants for the context of India, a large middle-aged democracy that has seen a growing presence of consultants over the last two decades. The study investigates four main questions: (a) What factors have fueled the growth of political consultancy? (b) What are the characteristics of the industry, such as the number and types of firms and types of clientele? (c) What are the range of services that consultants provide to political clients? (d) How have political consultants grown and evolved over time in the Indian context? The data for the study come from a combination of primary sources such as interviews with political consultants, and secondary sources such as media and industry reports, and personal accounts published by consultants. The study concludes with a forecast of the future of political consultancy in India, and identifies the pain points that are likely to stifle its growth potential.

摘要

在世界范围内，政治实践已经转向“专业化”。推动这一变化的一个关键政治行为者是政治顾问。然而，尽管顾问在当代政治中发挥着重要作用，但他们很少受到学术关注。我们介绍了一项针对印度背景的政治顾问研究，印度是一个大型中年民主国家，在过去的二十年里，顾问的数量不断增加。该研究调查了四个主要问题：(a) 哪些因素推动了政治咨询的增长？(b) 行业的特点是什么，例如公司的数量和类型以及客户类型？(c) 顾问向政治客户提供的服务范围有哪些？(d) 在印度的背景下，政治顾问是如何随着时间的推移而成长和演变的？该研究的数据来自主要来源，如对政治顾问的采访，以及媒体和行业报告等次要来源，以及顾问发布的个人账户。该研究最后对印度政治咨询公司的未来进行了预测，并确定了可能扼杀其增长潜力的痛点。