Strategic voting,information, and ethnicity in emerging democracies: Evidence from Kenya |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Government Department, Dartmouth College, HB 6108, Hanover, NH 03755, USA;2. Political Science Department, University of Washington, 101 Gowen Hall, Box 353530, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;1. Rice University, USA;2. Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey;1. Smith College, Northampton, USA;2. Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA;1. Universidade de Brasília, IPOL Campus Darcy Ribeiro Asa Norte, Brasília, DF, Brazil;2. University of Texas-Austin, 158 W 21st St Stop A1800, Austin, TX 78712-1704, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the conditions under which voters in emerging democracies support non-viable candidates. We argue that cognitive biases and the geographic clustering of minor-party supporters in ethno-political enclaves lead to misperceptions about the electoral prospects of minor-party candidates, weakening strategic defections both among co-ethnic and non-co-ethnic supporters. We explore these arguments using original survey data from Kenya's 2007 presidential election, a contest that featured a minor-party candidate, Kalonzo Musyoka, who stood little chance of electoral victory. Despite this, results show that most of his supporters chose to vote for the candidate, failing to perceive that he was not a viable contender. The findings suggest that theories of political behavior in multi-ethnic settings can be enriched by drawing upon insights from the political psychology literature on belief formation. |
| |
| Keywords: | Strategic voting Ethnicity Elections Democracy Africa Kenya |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
