Ms Salonee Shital1
1University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Biography:
Salonee is in her third year of PhD studies at the University of Auckland. Her work focuses on critical security studies. She has published work on India-China middle power relations and has research interests in nuclear politics and ontological security theory.
Abstract:
This research investigates how populist governments utilise strategic narratives and status-building as mechanisms for maintaining public support, with a particular focus on India's contemporary political landscape. The study examines how India's populist government has effectively deployed the civilisational state narrative as a primary tool to legitimize previously controversial policies. Following China's humiliation narrative model, the Indian populist right has strategically juxtaposed civilisational power against historical humiliation to advance contentious policies, including the Citizenship Amendment Act and changes to Kashmir's Article 370. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, incorporating discourse analysis and narrative analysis to examine how these narratives are constructed and deployed. The study's significance is heightened by the growing influence of the Indian diaspora, which has proven particularly receptive to these strategic narratives. By analysing how populist governments transform political agendas into acceptable public policy through strategic narratives, this research contributes to our understanding of contemporary populist governance and its impact on both domestic and international politics. The findings will illuminate the intricate relationship between narrative construction, policy justification, and public support in modern populist governance.