Ethnicity and Electoral Politics

Ethnicity and Electoral Politics

Author: Jóhanna Kristín Birnir

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-12-25

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 1139462601

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This book asks what distinguishes peaceful plural democracies from violent ones and what distinguishes violent ethnic groups from peaceful ones within the same democracy. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it suggests that ethnic groups and their political demands are not inherently intransigent and that violence is not a necessary corollary of ethnic politics. The book posits that ethnic identity serves as a stable but flexible information shortcut for political choices, influencing party formation and development in new and maturing democracies. It furthermore argues that political intransigence and violence expressed by some ethnic groups stem from circumstances exogenous to ethnic affiliations. In particular, absolute restrictions on ethnic access to the executive produce conditions under which ethnic group incentive to participate in peaceful electoral politics is eliminated. A number of case studies and statistical analysis of all electoral democracies since 1945 are used to test and support the formal argument.


Electoral Politics Is Not Enough

Electoral Politics Is Not Enough

Author: Peter F. Burns

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2006-01-20

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9780791466537

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Examines how and why government leaders understand and respond to African Americans and Latinos in northeastern cities with strong political traditions.


The Turnout Gap

The Turnout Gap

Author: Bernard L. Fraga

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018-11-06

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1108475191

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Persistent racial/ethnic gaps in voter turnout produce elections that are increasingly unrepresentative of the wishes of all Americans.


Racial Coalition Building in Local Elections

Racial Coalition Building in Local Elections

Author: Andrea Benjamin

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-09-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781108733427

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This book examines racial and ethnic coalition building in local elections and considers Black and Latino political incorporation more broadly. Although many argue that Black and Latino voters have much to gain from alliances that advance shared interests, coalitions between the two groups have not always formed easily or been stable over time. Recent mayoral elections across the country show different patterns of out-group candidate support. This book seeks to explain these variations and the specific conditions under which Blacks and Latinos vote for the same candidate. Drawing on large-n observational data, survey experiments, and qualitative case studies, Benjamin develops a theory of co-ethnic endorsements, which points to the significance of elite cues from Black and Latino leaders. The book demonstrates that voters use elite co-ethnic endorsements to help inform their votes, that they do so particularly when race is salient in an election, and that this has real implications for representation and access to political benefits.


Ethnicity and Elections in Turkey

Ethnicity and Elections in Turkey

Author: Gul Akdag

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-09-15

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1317683994

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Ethnicity and Elections in Turkey attempts to understand the mobilization strategies of incumbent parties to consolidate and increase their support among swing voters of an ethnic group. By analyzing the strategy of AKP on voters of Kurdish origin, it investigates the conditions under which it can mobilize them through the clientelistic network and its effectiveness in increasing support for the party. This investigation is conducted through a district and neighborhood level case study conducted in the districts of Beyoğlu, Sancaktepe and Beykoz situated in Istanbul. The main hypotheses are tested through five different steps. Firstly, an examination of electoral results identifies a large number of voters of Kurdish origin as ideologically close to pro-Islamist and pro-Kurdish parties. Secondly, the book identifies the main organs responsible of mobilizing voters and defines the nature of the clientelistic network. Thirdly, the study suggests that the incorporation of these voters into the party’s clientelistic network is a function of the number and time of entry of activists of Kurdish origin in the party’s ranks and the intensity of their contacts with the voters. Fourthly, it reveals the effectiveness of clientelistic mobilization in consolidating and increasing support among swing voters of Kurdish origin. Lastly, the inner party organization and critical juncture experienced by the party are argued to be influential in its ability to increase its network through the incorporation of new activists. Providing an alternative explanation of AKP’s electoral success in Turkey, this book is essential reading for students and scholars with an interest in Middle East politics, political parties and political science.


Exclusion by Elections

Exclusion by Elections

Author: John D. Huber

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-05-02

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1107182948

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This book proposes a new theory of identity politics in elections, explaining why it is difficult for democracies to address rising inequality.


Why Ethnic Parties Succeed

Why Ethnic Parties Succeed

Author: Kanchan Chandra

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2007-02-15

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9780521891417

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Why do some ethnic parties succeed in attracting the support of their target ethnic group while others fail? In a world in which ethnic parties flourish in both established and emerging democracies alike, understanding the conditions under which such parties rise and fall is of critical importance to both political scientists and policy makers. Drawing on a study of variation in the performance of ethnic parties in India, this book builds a theory of ethnic party performance in 'patronage democracies'. Chandra shows why individual voters and political entrepreneurs in such democracies condition their strategies not on party ideologies or policy platforms, but on a headcount of co-ethnics and others across party personnel and among the electorate.


Identity Politics and Elections in Malaysia and Indonesia

Identity Politics and Elections in Malaysia and Indonesia

Author: Karolina Prasad

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-12-14

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1317520289

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In recent social research, ethnicity has mostly been used as an explanatory variable. It was only after it was agreed that ethnicity, in itself, is subject to change, were the questions of how and why it changes, possible to answer. This multiplicity of ethnic identities requires that we think of each society as one with multiple ethnic dimensions, of which any can become activated in the process of political competition - and sometimes several of them within a short period of time. Focusing on Malaysia and Indonesia, this book traces the variations of ethnic identity by looking at electoral strategies in two sub-national units. It shows that ethnic identities are subject to change - induced by calculated moves by political entrepreneurs who use identities as tools to maximize their chances of winning elections or expanding support base - and highlights how political institutions play an enormous role in shaping the modes and dynamics of these ethno-political manipulations. The book suggests that in societies where ethnic identities are activated in politics, instead of analysing politics with ethnic distribution as an independent variable, ethnic distribution can be taken as the dependent variable, with political institutions being the explanatory one. It examines the problems of voters’ behaviour, and parties’ and candidates’ strategy in a polity that is, to a significant extent, driven by ethnic relations. Pushing the boundaries of qualitative research on Southeast Asian politics by placing formal institutions at the centre of its analysis, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Southeast Asian Politics, Race and Ethnic Studies, and International Relations.


Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa

Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa

Author: Daniel N. Posner

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-06-06

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1316582973

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This book presents a theory to account for why and when politics revolves around one axis of social cleavage instead of another. It does so by examining the case of Zambia, where people identify themselves either as members of one of the country's seventy-three tribes or as members of one of its four principal language groups. The book accounts for the conditions under which Zambian political competition revolves around tribal differences and under which it revolves around language group differences. Drawing on a simple model of identity choice, it shows that the answer depends on whether the country operates under single-party or multi-party rule. During periods of single-party rule, tribal identities serve as the axis of electoral mobilization and self-identification; during periods of multi-party rule, broader language group identities play this role. The book thus demonstrates how formal institutional rules determine the kinds of social cleavages that matter in politics.