Political ideology has traditionally acted like the moral, philosophical ground for democratic societies, but lately—almost like, more often than not—contemporary politics has been showing a steady weakening of ideological commitment. Quite several activists and leaders who are tied to particular movements end up shifting their party affiliations, not really for principle but more for electoral convenience, some direct financial nudge, or for the sake of political survival. And when this keeps happening, citizens get a kind of blur on what “real” ideological loyalty even means, so public trust in democratic institutions ends up getting weaker. This monograph looks at the crisis of political ideology inside modern democratic culture, with an emphasis on electoral opportunism, frequent party-switching, and also the commercialization of political activism. It goes on to discuss how media pressure, financial strength, and personality-led politics help produce ideological instability, as if ideas become props rather than guides. Using case-based observations from regional democratic practices in India, the paper suggests that political ideology is slowly becoming secondary to the pursuit of power, and to strategic advantage. The monograph also points out the sociological and psychological aftereffects of ideological inconsistency, especially on youth participation and overall democratic involvement. In the end, the study argues that democratic sustainability depends on ethical leadership, better political literacy, and institutional accountability, so that ideological faith among citizens can be rebuilt, and not just talked about.
ROHIT PAL (Mon,) studied this question.