Electoral Protest and Democracy in the Developing World
Electoral Protest and Democracy in the Developing World
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This book shows that the third wave of democracy has been accompanied by a worldwide wave of opposition-initiated, election-related protests. Such electoral protests result from a failure on the part of incumbent and opposition elites in the developing world to negotiate acceptable terms of electoral conduct, and their consequences for democracy depend on the context in which they occur. Where election boycotts receive international support, they increase the probability of democratic reform, but where support is primarily domestic, there is a higher probability of authoritarian backsliding. Based on an extensive new data set covering nearly thirty years of electoral protest and election-related reform in the developing world, this book explores the causes of different types of electoral protest and their consequences for democracy. Statistical analysis and case studies provide readers with a complete picture of the dynamics surrounding developing world elections, protest, and democratization.
- Offers an accessible treatment of bargaining theory and explanations of bargaining failure
- Provides a wealth of stories of elections in the developing world
- Includes a rich, detailed data resource of election boycotts, post-election demonstrations, and election-related reform
Reviews & endorsements
"In this book, Beaulieu proposes and tests an important new theory of why authoritarian leaders agree to hold more or less competitive elections, and why such processes sometimes descend into protests and reversals. It is a story of problems for incumbents to make credible commitments and of information deficits leading to 'bargaining failures' in transition processes. With a carefully designed study involving rigorous quantitative analyses as well as a wealth of qualitative case analyses, Beaulieu makes an inspiring and significant contribution to the study of the role of elections in competitive electoral regimes."
Staffan I. Lindberg, University of Gothenburg
"What happens, in the absence of strong institutions, when opposition and incumbents fail to agree on the acceptable conduct of an election? In this incisive and deeply researched study, Beaulieu highlights the role of protest in advancing opposition demands for fairer elections and identifies the conditions under which it succeeds in convincing incumbents to enact democratic reforms. A must-read for students of democratization and contentious politics alike."
Frederic C. Schaffer, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
"Beaulieu’s book presents original data on multiparty elections in 118 developing countries over three decades, from 1975 to 2006. It examines two facets of electoral protest: boycotts of the election, and demonstrations following the vote."
Michael Biggs, Mobilization
Product details
March 2014Paperback
9781107612273
238 pages
228 × 153 × 14 mm
0.34kg
6 b/w illus. 8 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Elite bargaining and developing world elections
- 3. Causes of electoral protest
- 4. Election day and its aftermath
- 5. Democratic consequences of electoral protest
- 6. Conclusion
- Appendix A. Data and robustness
- Appendix B. Boycotts
- Appendix C. Demonstrations
- Appendix D. Reforms.
