Voter Backlash and Elite Misperception: The Logic of Violence in Electoral Competition - Softcover

Rosenzweig

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009354892 ISBN 13: 9781009354899

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2025

Synopsis

Existing theories of election-related violence often assume that if elites instigate violence, they must benefit electorally from doing so. With a focus on Kenya, this book employs a wide array of data and empirical methods to demonstrate that - contrary to conventional wisdom - violence can be a costly strategy resulting in significant voter backlash. The book argues that politicians often fail to perceive these costs and thus employ violence as an electoral tactic even when its efficacy is doubtful. Election-related violence can therefore be explained not solely by the electoral benefits it provides, but by politicians' misperceptions about its effectiveness as an electoral tactic. The book also shows that violence in founding elections - the first elections held under a new multiparty regime - has long-lasting effects on politicians (mis)perceptions about its usefulness, explaining why some countries' elections suffer from recurrent bouts of violence while others do not.

About this title

About the Author

Steven C. Rosenzweig is Assistant Professor in Political Science at Boston University. His research focuses on electoral violence and democratic accountability.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2025
• ISBN 10: 1009354892
• ISBN 13: 9781009354899
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 222