Editing Mares Young 2016
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Introduction | |||
Sure, here’s a summarized version in bullet points: | |||
"Buying, Expropriating, and Stealing Votes" by Isabela Mares and Lauren Young. | "Buying, Expropriating, and Stealing Votes" by Isabela Mares and Lauren Young. | ||
*Main Topic: Explores the complex dynamics of electoral influence worldwide, examining how voters are influenced by both threats and promises based on their vote. | *Main Topic: Explores the complex dynamics of electoral influence worldwide, examining how voters are influenced by both threats and promises based on their vote. | ||
**Clientelism Evolution: Details the progression of clientelism, highlighting the variety of intermediaries involved in the electoral process and the different tactics they employ. | **Clientelism Evolution: Details the progression of clientelism, highlighting the variety of intermediaries involved in the electoral process and the different tactics they employ. | ||
**Types of Clientelism: Distinguishes between positive inducements (rewards) and negative inducements (threats). | **Types of Clientelism: Distinguishes between positive inducements (rewards) and negative inducements (threats). | ||
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*Definition of Clientelism: Clientelism involves a transactional relationship where voters receive individual incentives from politicians to vote in a specific way, mediated through brokers. | *Definition of Clientelism: Clientelism involves a transactional relationship where voters receive individual incentives from politicians to vote in a specific way, mediated through brokers. | ||
*Distinction from Other Practices: This differs from general promises of benefits which are not tied to individual votes, and from electoral fraud that does not consider voter preferences. | *Distinction from Other Practices: This differs from general promises of benefits which are not tied to individual votes, and from electoral fraud that does not consider voter preferences. | ||
#Types of Inducements: | |||
#Positive Inducements: Tangible rewards like money, goods, or favors exchanged for votes. | |||
#Negative Inducements: Threats of economic or physical harm used to influence voting behavior, including withdrawal of benefits, eviction, or violence. | |||
*Challenges in Measurement: Difficulty in measuring inducements due to their illegal nature and the mutual desire to conceal these transactions, especially where vote-buying is illegal. | *Challenges in Measurement: Difficulty in measuring inducements due to their illegal nature and the mutual desire to conceal these transactions, especially where vote-buying is illegal. | ||
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*Topic: Discussion on the variety of brokers and strategies in clientelism, highlighting the critical role of intermediaries in linking political candidates and voters. There is an increased academic focus on understanding the complex dynamics between brokers, candidates, and voters. | *Topic: Discussion on the variety of brokers and strategies in clientelism, highlighting the critical role of intermediaries in linking political candidates and voters. There is an increased academic focus on understanding the complex dynamics between brokers, candidates, and voters. | ||
#Types of Brokers: | |||
##Partisan Brokers: Affiliated directly with political parties. | ##Partisan Brokers: Affiliated directly with political parties. | ||
##State Employees: Government officials or workers. | ##State Employees: Government officials or workers. | ||
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This subsection investigates how the degree of ballot secrecy influences the strategies employed in clientelism. This analysis sheds light on the crucial role that the protection of voter secrecy plays in shaping electoral tactics. The authors argue that threats of post-electoral retribution are potent when ballot secrecy is inadequately protected, suggesting a greater reliance on intimidation strategies under such conditions. Conversely, the enforcement of laws safeguarding voting secrecy tends to diminish the utilization of these coercive methods. | This subsection investigates how the degree of ballot secrecy influences the strategies employed in clientelism. This analysis sheds light on the crucial role that the protection of voter secrecy plays in shaping electoral tactics. The authors argue that threats of post-electoral retribution are potent when ballot secrecy is inadequately protected, suggesting a greater reliance on intimidation strategies under such conditions. Conversely, the enforcement of laws safeguarding voting secrecy tends to diminish the utilization of these coercive methods. | ||
Monitoring and Punishment of Malfeasance | |||
This subsection provides an insightful analysis of how variations in monitoring and the severity or likelihood of punishment for electoral misconduct affect the incidence of electoral malfeasance. The authors highlight that, generally, enhanced monitoring tends to reduce electoral malfeasance and that the political experience of European countries post-suffrage expansion presents a compelling case for studying electoral clientelism. This subsection delves into the intriguing cross-national variations in electoral irregularities such as vote buying, intimidation, and ballot stuffing, noting how these practices differed significantly across countries after adopting voter secrecy. | |||
The discussion emphasizes the role of electoral laws and their enforcement in shaping the strategies employed by political actors. For instance, stringent penalties for vote buying in some jurisdictions effectively deterred such practices, pushing political actors toward alternative strategies like intimidation by state employees or unpenalized electoral interventions by employers. This adaptive behavior underscores the strategic calculus political actors use in response to the monitoring and punishment landscape, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of the risks and rewards associated with various forms of electoral malfeasance. | |||
Electoral Systems and Irregularities | |||
This subsection delves into the complex interplay between electoral systems and the prevalence of electoral irregularities, emphasizing the inconclusive nature of research findings. The discussion highlights that while some studies suggest proportional representation systems might be associated with larger levels of electoral corruption compared to plurality systems, others find no clear relationship between the type of electoral system and electoral malfeasance. This ambiguity in findings underscores the challenges in discerning direct links between electoral systems and the strategies of electoral manipulation employed by political actors. | |||
Further, the authors explore the hypothesis that electoral systems with different candidate selection rules (open or closed lists) might impact levels of electoral corruption differently. However, scholarly consensus needs to be improved, with significant disagreement on whether systems with open or closed lists lead to higher electoral corruption. | |||
Control of Local Institutions: Incumbency and Traditional Leaders | |||
This subsection delves into how the control of local institutions, mainly through incumbency and traditional leadership, significantly influences the distribution and effectiveness of clientelistic strategies. The authors discuss how long-term incumbents, with their extended control over local administrative resources, can leverage these assets to influence electoral outcomes. This control allows for a more strategic deployment of state resources during elections, effectively turning state employees into brokers of clientelism. | |||
The discussion further extends to the role of traditional leaders and local elites, who, like incumbents, can significantly sway electoral results. Deeply rooted in their communities, these leaders command respect and loyalty that can be mobilized for political purposes. Their ability to influence voter behavior, often for economic or ideological reasons, underscores the complex interplay between local governance structures and electoral clientelism. | |||
Control of Local Institutions: Incubancy and Traditional Leaders | Control of Local Institutions: Incubancy and Traditional Leaders | ||
As Mares & Young seek to understand the importance of the influence of electoral strategies within leaders, they will break down the variables that may arise with the practice of electoral clientelism | |||
Clientelism: a practice where politicians exchange favors for political support from individuals or groups Incubancy: a situation where a person currently holds a particular office or position | Clientelism: a practice where politicians exchange favors for political support from individuals or groups Incubancy: a situation where a person currently holds a particular office or position | ||
Foundational understanding: | Foundational understanding: | ||
An important aspect of explaining the level and distribution of clientelism is understanding how political parties seek control over institutions, particularly local ones | An important aspect of explaining the level and distribution of clientelism is understanding how political parties seek control over institutions, particularly local ones | ||
Clientelism can be seen for instance with local leaders (mayors, traditional leaders) influencing voters for economic or ideological reasons | Clientelism can be seen for instance with local leaders (mayors, traditional leaders) influencing voters for economic or ideological reasons | ||
Argument:The greater the contact can be made for the benefit of political support, the more likely state resources will be deployed | Argument:The greater the contact can be made for the benefit of political support, the more likely state resources will be deployed | ||
Studies: | |||
Have found significant differences in the use of clientelistic strategies that involve state employee brokers, such as the provision of administrative favors (Mares & Petriva 2014) | |||
Mares & Muntean (2015): demonstrate differences between the use of welfare coercion for political turnover | |||
Concluding:The structures of leadership may affect variation in clientelistic strategies by shaping the strength and availability of local leaders who command moral authority and resources to influence the electoral behavior of voters | |||
VARIABLES | |||
Economic Conditions | |||
Employers electoral influence is the result of their control over important dimensions affecting the welfare of workers, such as their wages, levels of employment, or access to social policy benefits that are privately provided | |||
Three factors lower the costs of economic intimidation in localities with high levels of concentration | |||
First, owing to their scale, larger firms incur lower costs in carrying out political activities, such as control of electoral turnover or the distribution of political material on behalf of a particular candidate | |||
Second, in concentrated localities, workers have fewer employment opportunities outside the firm | |||
Finally, the concentration of employment in the hands of small members of actors reduces the possible coordination problems faced by employers in punishing workers with “dangerous” political views by denying them employment opportunities | |||
The willingness of employers to engage in electoral intimidation is also affected by labor market conditions such as labor scarcity | |||
Voter Characteristics | |||
There is also compelling evidence that brokers and parties use different strategies against voters with different characteristics | |||
These explanations refer to voters' partisan preferences, socioeconomic status, and psychological attributes | |||
POLICY OR PARTISAN PREFERENCE | |||
There is compelling evidence that brokers and parties use different strategies against voters with different characteristics | |||
These explanations refer to voters' partisan preferences, socioeconomic status, and psychological attributes | |||
Arguments on Partisan preference | |||
Most formal theories on this topic have predicted that, under most conditions, parties should target inducements on voters with weak ideological affiliations | |||
Some scholars have argued that core supporters are easier to target efficiently because they are embedded in partisan networks | |||
Robinson & Torvick (2009) argue that parties should substitute violence for threats against swing voters because they are the most expensive to buy off if multiple parties are bidding for their votes | |||
Proposition | |||
Stokes et. al. (2013) propose a “broker-mediated” theory of targeting in which politicians prefer to buy the votes of swing voters, but brokers who are imperfectly monitored end up mobilizing core supporters in order to capture rents | |||
Study/Data | |||
A study was conducted by collecting data from 10 countries in Africa to understand the amount of inducement offered and the fear of violence the results were the following: | |||
The Afrobaometer data shows a negative and statistically significant relationship between being a swing voter and a vote-buying offer in six of the ten countries | |||
This evidence suggests that parties are more likely to offer positive inducements to their own core supporters, but little evidence supports that there is any targeting based on the strength of voters' party identifications, which runs counter to the idea that swing voters should be singled out for violence | |||
Concluding: The threats of electoral violence, however, do not appear to be strongly targeted on the basis of voter partisan preference | |||
Concluding | |||
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS | |||
Looking further into different variables that might alter the approach of persuading votes, a socioeconomic analysis will be made | |||
It is likely that economic factors such as income play an important role in determining whether voters are targetted with both positive and negative inducements | |||
Argument: | |||
If vote buying and violence are substitutes, then we might expect that parties would be less likely to use violence against poor voters because their | |||
However low-income voters may also be the most vulnerable to violence, as they are least capable of investing in security | |||
Study | |||
The same afrobarameter measuring inducements offered and fear of violence was conducted upon such arguments and the results are the following: | |||
Poorer voters are consistently more to be afraid of electoral violence in seven out of ten of the African countries with the most fear of electoral violence | |||
Psychological Factors | |||
As one of many possible factors for voting outcomes, Mares and Young explains how one of the major puzzles is the understanding of how brokers enforce contracts with voters despite the existence of the secret ballot | |||
Secret Ballot: confidential voting method | |||
Argument | |||
That emotion shapes reaction to the threat of repression and con ultimately cost of a shift in political standpoints | |||
Young (2015) finds that campaign ads shared by an opposition party in a repressive environment cause more pro-opposition political speech when they appeal to anger rather than enthusiasm and that this effect is particularly strong among voters in higher-income areas | |||
Concluding | |||
With the results Mares & Young can argue that results suggest that citizens vary in psychological propensity when it comes to mobilizing or demobilizing emotions in response to the threat of electoral violence to then help explain how effective violence is from the regime | |||
Summary | |||
As trade-off and clientelistic mobilization was at the center of electoral processes, studies have been attempting to further disaggregate the types of clientelistic echnages that we can be seen done by brokers with candidates and voters. Questions such as “what are the most salient variables that explain variation across countries, regions, and localities in the mix of clientelistic strategies?” and “who are the voters being targetted by different clientelistic strategies?”. TTherefore Mares & Young seek to gain a further understanding of how local leaders/ brokers are important during elections and what changes are possible to shift influence strategies, as well as understanding when voters are more likely to support particular candidates if those relations are viewed as gifts or threats. |