Adam Michael Auerback and Tariq Thachil. Migrants and Machine Politics: How India's Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2023. 275. Softcover, $35.00.

• Author: Hirsch, Michael L.

In Migrants and Machine Politics: How India's Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness, Auerbach and Thachil explore how Indian urban slum populations leverage goods and services from government officials. Their research stretched over eight years and focused on two major cities, Bhopal and Jaipur. The research included fieldwork, forced-choice conjoint experiments, interviews, surveys, and the use of satellite imagery. Auerbach and Thachil test political theories that suggest the votes of slum dwellers can-be-bought by election-day gifts and challenge the belief that urban machine politics operate as a top down mechanism. They also question the assumption that Indian political engagement occurs within lines of caste, ethnicity and/or religion.

Auerbach and Thachil focus their research on 110 squatter settlements which include "over 300 sub-castes (jati), stretching across all strata of the Hindu social hierarchy and a wide range of Muslim zat" (p. 29). Ten million Indians move from rural areas to urban centers each year (p. 239) contributing to the development and growth of squatter settlements across India. Because of their tentative legal status and the rapidity of expansion, slums dweller struggle to obtain what they need from local governing authorities.

Among their findings is the way in which local slum leaders emerge. Those who prove themselves effective in assisting neighbors develop followings. Key to their efficacy may be their relatively high level of education (e.g., helpful when applying for ration cards) and connectivity outside of the slum to government bureaucracies and officials. These informal leadership roles are cherished for the opportunity they provide for upward mobility (e.g., within political party structures). Because of the fluidity of slum populations, leaders assist a diversity of residents. The wider their support base, the more effective they are especially in turning out crowds to pressure government officials to act.

Political machine operatives, constantly looking to recruit talent and garner the votes of slum residents, interface with slum leaders petitioning for assistance. Slum leaders with "mouth publicity" (p. 130) can turn out crowds, and are of interest to political patrons. Patrons depend on slum leaders who can elevate events (e.g., a gathering to provide health services to residents) or when community improvements are dedicated...