| Abstract: | In this article, I critique available elite-mass linkage theories that depict elites either as structurally determined or rational actors. Taking cues from Bourdieu's political field theory, I argue that elites' mass-linkage strategies are a product of their point of view on politics structured by their trajectory in historically specific structures of politics. I demonstrate my argument by documenting shifts in the mass-linkage strategies of Indira Gandhi, one of the most influential leaders of postcolonial India. The general lesson to be drawn from this study is that it is important to examine political elites' past mass-linkage experiences in historically specific conditions of the political structure in order to explain their current choices of mass-linkage strategies. |
