JournalTOCs

Comparative Political Studies
Journal Prestige (SJR): 3.772

Citation Impact (citeScore): 3
Number of Followers: 227

Hybrid journal * Containing 3 Open Access article(s) in this issue *
ISSN (Print) 0010-4140 - ISSN (Online) 1552-3829
Published by Sage Publications

[1084 journals]

The Protestant Ethic Reexamined: Calvinism and Industrialization
- Authors: Jeremy Spater, Isak Tranvik
  Pages: 1963 - 1994
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Volume 52, Issue 13-14, Page 1963-1994, November-December 2019.
  Can cultural differences affect economic change' Max Weber famously argued that ascetic Protestants’ religious commitments—specifically their work ethic—inspired them to develop capitalist economic systems conducive to rapid economic change. Yet today, scholars continue to debate the empirical validity of Weber’s claims, which address a vibrant literature in political economy on the relationship between culture and economic change. We revisit the link between religion and economic change in Reformed Europe. To do so, we leverage a quasi-experiment in Western Switzerland, where certain regions had Reformed Protestant beliefs imposed on them by local authorities during the Swiss Reformation, while other regions remained Catholic. Using 19th-century Swiss census data, we perform a fuzzy spatial regression discontinuity design to test Weber’s hypothesis and find that the Swiss Protestants in the Canton of Vaud industrialized faster than their Catholic neighbors in Fribourg.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-09-18T10:05:01Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830721
Opting Out of the Social Contract: Tax Morale and Evasion
- Authors: Néstor Castañeda, David Doyle, Cassilde Schwartz
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  We examine the individual-level determinants of tax morale in low-capacity states, specifically Latin American countries, where the social contract is often perceived as fractured. We argue that individuals in such states perceive the social contract as an agreement to which they can opt in or opt out. Those who choose to opt out prefer to substitute state-provided goods for private providers, rather than pay for public goods through taxes or free ride to receive those goods. Through a list experiment conducted in Mexico City, we demonstrate that willingness to evade taxes is highest when individuals have stepped outside of the social contract. More traditional indicators of reciprocity—such as socioeconomic status and perceptions of corruption—are not significant. We bolster our experimental results with observational data from 17 Latin American cities; those with access to employer-sponsored insurance are more willing to evade tax.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-11-04T06:19:09Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879956
The Co-optation of Dissent in Hybrid States: Post-Soviet Graffiti in
Moscow
- Authors: Alexis M. Lerner
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Hybrid leaders seek job security. To stay in power, it may be intuitive that they respond to dissent with a heavy hand. However, these leaders are subject to accountability and concerned with legitimacy and therefore must consider the optics of their decisions. By co-opting a previously independent avenue of communication and its leadership, the state eliminates challengers, curates its public image through trusted social leaders, and reinforces control without resorting to repressive methods that may backfire. Based on a decade of fieldwork, data collection, and expert interviews, I evidence the co-optation of dissent via thematic, spatial, and material shifts in political public art, crafted between the 2012 and 2018 Russian presidential elections. As it consolidated power during this time, the Putin administration co-opted critical graffiti artists and flooded out those unwilling to cooperate, replacing subversive and anonymous anti-regime graffiti with Kremlin-curated murals, particularly in the city center.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-11-01T05:24:22Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879949
Living in Fear: The Dynamics of Extortion in Mexico’s Drug War
- Authors: Beatriz Magaloni, Gustavo Robles, Aila M. Matanock, Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, Vidal Romero
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Why do drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) sometimes prey on the communities in which they operate but sometimes provide assistance to these communities' What explains their strategies of extortion and co-optation toward civil society' Using new survey data from Mexico, including list experiments to elicit responses about potentially illegal behavior, this article measures the prevalence of extortion and assistance among DTOs. In support of our theory, these data show that territorial contestation among rival organizations produces more extortion and, in contrast, DTOs provide more assistance when they have monopoly control over a turf. The article uncovers other factors that also shape DTOs’ strategies toward the population, including the degree of collaboration with the state, leadership stability and DTO organization, and the value and logistics of the local criminal enterprise.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-30T04:53:58Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879958
Communist Legacies and Left-Authoritarianism
- Authors: Grigore Pop-Eleches, Joshua A. Tucker
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Communist regimes were avowedly leftist authoritarian regimes, a relative rarity among autocracies. The growing literature on regime legacies would lead us to expect that postcommunist citizens would be more likely to exhibit “left-authoritarian” attitudes than their counterparts elsewhere. Finding that this is the case, we rely on 157 surveys from 88 countries to test if a living through Communism legacy model can account for this surplus of left-authoritarian attitudes. Employing both aggregate and micro-level analyses, we find strong support for the predictions of this model. Moving beyond previous legacy studies, we then test a variety of hypothesized mechanisms to explain how exposure to communist rule could have led to the regime congruent left-authoritarian attitudes. Of the mechanisms tested, greater state penetration of society is associated with a strong socialization effect and religious attendance—and in particular attending Catholic religious services—is associated with weaker socialization effects.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-30T04:53:39Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879954
Transparency, Elections, and Pakistani Politicians’ Tax Compliance
- Authors: Rabia Malik
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  A growing literature on political accountability focuses on the extent to which voters electorally punish politicians when provided with credible negative information about politicians’ actions. Whether politicians respond to information provision by changing their behavior—thus appearing accountable to voters—is an integral part of this puzzle but has received comparatively little attention. I address this gap by exploiting an unforeseen decision by the Pakistani government to publicly release legislators’ past income tax payments, and measure the effect of the information provision on their tax payments in the following year. Using new data on politicians’ asset ownership and tax payments in a difference-in-differences research design, I provide strong evidence that the pressure to decrease tax evasion was highest for competitively and directly elected legislators. These heterogeneous effects are not explained by differences between legislators or electoral constituencies, supporting the hypothesis that electoral incentives condition legislator responsiveness to information shocks.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-21T06:04:21Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879964
Mixed Judicial Selection and Constitutional Review
- Authors: Lydia Brashear Tiede
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Almost half the constitutional court judges worldwide are selected by a mixed selection system, whereby a specific number of judges are selected by different government institutions. What are the implications of this selection method and its variations for judges’ individual choices on constitutional review cases' An examination of vote choice on the Chilean and Colombian constitutional courts indicates that judges’ decisions to strike down laws are explained more by their and other colleagues’ institutional selector than their political party associations. The results call into question traditional judicial behavior models by suggesting that judges with different selectors have distinct voices when adjudicating constitutional questions which in turn enhances the deliberative process. However, the results also raise concern that certain selecting institutions may have a more significant voice in vetoing legislation than afforded them in the regular legislative process.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-21T06:02:41Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879961
Patterns of Regime Breakdown Since the French Revolution
- Authors: Vilde Lunnan Djuve, Carl Henrik Knutsen, Tore Wig
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  We present a temporally fine-grained data set on regimes, defined as the formal and informal rules essential for selecting leaders. The data set comprises more than 2,000 regimes from 197 polities, 1789 to 2016. We highlight how the frequency of breakdowns and particular modes of breakdown have followed cyclical rather than monotonic patterns across modern history. The most common breakdown modes, overall, are coups and incumbent-guided regime transformations. Furthermore, we report robust evidence that low income, slow or negative growth, and intermediate levels of democracy predict a higher likelihood of regime breakdown. Yet, by running change-point analysis we establish that breakdown risk has cycled substantively across periods of modern history, and the aforementioned explanatory factors are more clearly related to breakdown during certain periods. When disaggregating different breakdown modes, low income is related to, for example, breakdown due to popular uprisings, whereas intermediate democracy levels clearly predict coup-induced breakdowns and incumbent-guided transitions.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-17T06:04:48Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879953
Populism as a Problem of Social Integration
- Authors: Noam Gidron, Peter A. Hall
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  We argue that support for parties of the radical right and left can usefully be understood as a problem of social integration—an approach that brings together economic and cultural explanations for populism. With comparative survey data, we assess whether support for parties of the radical right and left is associated with feelings of social marginalization. We find that people who feel more socially marginal—because they lack strong attachment to the normative order, social engagement, or a sense of social respect—are more likely to be alienated from mainstream politics and to support radical parties. We also find an association between indicators for recent economic and cultural developments often said to affect social status and feelings of social marginalization, especially among people with low incomes or educational attainment. We conclude that problems of social integration and subjective social status deserve more attention from scholars of comparative political behavior.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-17T06:03:28Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879947
The Dilemma of Dissent: Split Judicial Decisions and Compliance With
Judgments From the International Human Rights Judiciary
- Authors: Daniel Naurin, Øyvind Stiansen
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  The mutual dependence between courts and their compliance constituencies is a fundamental feature of judicial power. Actors whose rights and interests are reinforced by court decisions may use these as legal ammunitions while contributing to ensuring that court decisions are effectively implemented. We argue that judgments that contain dissenting opinions are less powerful in this regard, compared with unanimous decisions. The reason is that dissent reduces the perceived legal authority of the judgment. Using data from the international human rights judiciaries in Europe and the Americas, we provide evidence of a negative relationship between judicial dissent and compliance. Our findings have important implications for questions relating to the institutional design of courts, for courts’ ability to manage compliance problems, and for understanding the conditions for effective international judicial protection of human rights.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-17T06:02:28Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879944
The Dynamics of Labor Militancy in the Extractive Sector: Kazakhstan’s
Oilfields and South Africa’s Platinum Mines in Comparative Perspective
- Authors: Allison D. Evans, Rudra Sil
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  This article investigates why, in two very different regimes, similarly high levels of labor militancy are evident in Kazakhstan’s oilfields and South Africa’s platinum belt. It also explores the common dynamics leading up to the massacres at Zhanaozen (2011) and Marikana (2012). The hypothesis-generating most different systems comparison highlights the challenges of labor relations where extraction at fixed sites combines with volatile prices and shareholder pressures in a globalized economy to raise the stakes for business, labor, and state. Also significant are blockages in existing channels for bargaining linked to quiescent unions. These jointly necessary conditions account for increased militancy in extractive industries in Kazakhstan and South Africa. To account for the Zhanaozen and Marikana massacres, timing and sequence are considered. Both standoffs came later in the strike wave, prompting impatient state and business elites to criticize the protests as “criminal” acts, and priming security personnel to employ violent repression.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-17T06:01:28Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879715
When Does Information Influence Voters' The Joint Importance of
Salience and Coordination
- Authors: Claire Adida, Jessica Gottlieb, Eric Kramon, Gwyneth McClendon
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Scholars argue that access to information about a politician’s programmatic performance helps voters reward good performers and punish poor ones. But in places where resources are made conditional on collective electoral behavior, voters may not want to defect to vote for a strong legislative performer if they do not believe that others will. We argue that two conditions must hold for information about politician performance to affect voter behavior: Voters must care about the information and believe that others in their constituency care as well. In a field experiment around legislative elections in Benin, voters rewarded good programmatic performance only when information was both made relevant to voters and widely disseminated within the electoral district. Otherwise, access to positive legislative performance information actually lowered vote share for the incumbent’s party. These results demonstrate the joint importance of Salience and voter coordination in shaping information’s impact in clientelistic democracies.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-16T06:57:17Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879945
Middle Class Without a Net: Savings, Financial Fragility, and Preferences
Over Social Insurance
- Authors: Jacob Gerner Hariri, Amalie Sofie Jensen, David Dreyer Lassen
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  In this article, we show that it is crucial to distinguish between liquid and illiquid wealth to understand how voters form preferences toward social insurance. Many households are financially fragile despite having high incomes and wealth, because they hold little liquid savings. We hypothesize, and show empirically, that this implies that a substantial group of voters show strong support for social insurance policies despite being wealthy and having high incomes, because of their limited ability to self-insure through own savings in case of an income shock. Our empirical analysis is based on a novel dataset from Denmark, which combines administrative data with high-quality measures of individual financial assets and survey measures of political preferences. Using data for other countries from the European Social Survey, we find evidence that our results hold more generally and are not specific to the Danish context.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-15T11:30:16Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879718
Business Against Markets: Employer Resistance to Collective Bargaining
Liberalization During the Eurozone Crisis
Open Access Article
- Authors: Fabio Bulfone, Alexandre Afonso
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Employer organizations have been presented as strong promoters of the liberalization of industrial relations in Europe. This article, in contrast, argues that the preferences of employers vis-à-vis liberalization are heterogeneous and documents how employer organizations in Spain, Italy, and Portugal have resisted state-led reforms to liberalize collective bargaining during the Euro crisis. It shows that the dominance of small firms in the economies of these countries make employer organizations supportive of selective aspects of sectoral bargaining and state regulation. Encompassing sectoral bargaining is important for small firms for three reasons: it limits industrial conflict, reduces transaction costs related to wage-bargaining, and ensures that member firms are not undercut by rivals offering lower wages and employment conditions. Furthermore, the maintenance of sectoral bargaining and its extension to whole sectors by the state is a matter of survival for employer organizations. The article presents rationales for employer opposition to liberalization that differ from the varieties of capitalism approach.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-07T04:37:12Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879963
Addressing Violence Against Women: The Effect of Women’s Police
Stations on Police Legitimacy
- Authors: Abby Córdova, Helen Kras
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  With a focus on the implementation of women’s police stations (WPS), we posit that local policies that address violence against women can result in positive feedback effects on institutional legitimacy. We theorize that WPS increase police legitimacy among women by improving perceptions of personal safety and government responsiveness. To test our hypotheses, we rely on municipal and public opinion data from more than 100 municipalities in Brazil. The results of our multilevel analysis indicate that WPS produce positive feedback effects among women, resulting in higher trust in the police among women than men and closing the gender gap in perceptions of police effectiveness. Incorporating an instrumental variable in the analyses yields similar results, suggesting that these effects are not endogenous. Moreover, the results of our mediation models show that WPS’ positive effects on women’s views of police legitimacy are driven by improved perceptions of personal safety, and not perceptions of government responsiveness.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-10-07T04:35:52Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019879959
The Evolution of the Immigration Debate: Evidence from a New Dataset of
Party Positions Over the Last Half-Century
- Authors: Rafaela Dancygier, Yotam Margalit
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Immigration is one of the most contentious issues across contemporary democracies, but this has not always been the case. What accounts for this development' We study how immigration has evolved in the political debate in Western Europe over five decades by creating and analyzing a comprehensive new data set—Immigration in Party Manifestos (IPM)—of all immigration-related appeals made in preelection manifestos by major parties. Our account focuses on three central debates. First, contra to perceived wisdom, we find no evidence of polarization between left and right. Instead, we document a striking co-movement. Second, we find only modest support for the argument that the success of anti-immigrant parties significantly shapes how centrist parties position themselves on immigration. Finally, our evidence counters the claim that cultural issues have overtaken the debate over immigration. Although the prominence of immigration-related cultural appeals has increased in certain countries and elections, the economic dimension has remained prevalent.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-22T10:33:05Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019858936
How Do Inclusionary and Exclusionary Autocracies Affect Ordinary
People'
- Authors: Anja Neundorf, Johannes Gerschewski, Roman-Gabriel Olar
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  We propose a distinction between inclusionary and exclusionary autocratic ruling strategies and develop novel theoretical propositions on the legacy that these strategies leave on citizens’ political attitudes once the autocratic regime broke down. Using data of 1.3 million survey respondents from 71 countries and hierarchical age–period–cohort models, we estimate between and within cohort differences in citizens’ democratic support. We find that inclusionary regimes—with wider redistribution of socioeconomic and political benefits—leave a stronger antidemocratic legacy than exclusionary regimes on the political attitudes of their citizens. Similarly, citizens who were part of the winning group in an autocracy are more critical with democracy compared with citizens who were part of discriminated groups. This article contributes to our understanding about how autocracies affect the hearts and minds of ordinary citizens.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-17T05:26:46Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019858958
A Closer Look at the Limits of Consociationalism
- Authors: Matthew Charles Wilson
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Although scholars agree that ethnically divided societies are generally more prone to political violence, critics of consociationalism suggest that proportional representation and parliamentarism provide poor solutions for ethnically heterogeneous settings. I argue that extant findings about the impacts of powersharing institutions on conflict likelihood assume that institutions have a linear relationship with ethnic diversity, whereas in reality, the relationship is more complex. I demonstrate that proportional representation and parliamentarism are associated with an increased likelihood of civil conflict at mid-range levels of diversity but are associated with a decreased risk of conflict in more extremely divided settings, while federalism is independently associated with greater conflict risk at higher levels of ethnic heterogeneity. The results underscore that the peace-promoting effects of institutions may depend on how polarized societies are, encouraging scholars to think more seriously about the effectiveness of consociationalism for mitigating violence where there is greater ethnic diversity.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-16T08:29:14Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019858956
Speechmaking and the Selectorate: Persuasion in Nonpreferential Electoral
Systems
- Authors: Jorge M. Fernandes, Miguel Won, Bruno Martins
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  This article examines the extent to which legislators use legislative debates to engage in localism activities to cater to the interests of their selectorate in nonpreferential electoral systems. We define localism activities as the delivery of tangible and intangible benefits to a geographically confined constituency that is instrumental to legislators’ re-selection. Our primary argument is that legislators whose selectorate operates at the local level make more speeches with parochial references. Results show strong support for this assertion. Furthermore, we find that high district magnitude leads to higher levels of localism. We use a mixed-methods research design, combining an original data set of 60,000 debates in Portugal with qualitative evidence from elite interviews. We make a methodological innovation in the field of representation and legislative studies by using a Named Entity Recognition tool to analyze the debates.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-12T09:50:48Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019858964
The Origins of Persistent Current Account Imbalances in the Post-Bretton
Woods Era
- Authors: Mark S. Manger, Thomas Sattler
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Why do some countries run persistent current account surpluses' Why do others run deficits, often over decades, leading to enduring global imbalances' Such persistent imbalances are the root cause of many financial crises and a major source of international economic conflict. We propose that differences in wage-bargaining institutions explain a large share of imbalances through their effect on the trade balance. In countries with coordinated wage bargaining, wage growth in export industries can be restrained to ensure competitiveness, leading to persistent trade surpluses. We estimate the contribution of these institutions to trade balances in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries since 1977 and find ample support for our hypothesis. Contrary to much of the literature, the choice of fixed or floating exchange rate regimes has only a small effect on trade or current account balances. In other words, internal adjustment in surplus countries via wage-bargaining institutions trumps external adjustment by deficit countries.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-11T04:59:10Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019859031
(How) Do Voters Discriminate Against Women Candidates' Experimental
and Qualitative Evidence From Malawi
- Authors: Amanda Clayton, Amanda Lea Robinson, Martha C. Johnson, Ragnhild Muriaas
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  How do voters evaluate women candidates in places where traditional gender norms are strong' We conduct a survey experiment in Malawi to assess both whether citizens discriminate against women candidates and how other salient candidate characteristics—political experience, family status, policy focus, and gendered kinship practices—interact with candidate gender to affect citizen support. Contrary to our expectations, we find citizens prefer women candidates ceteris paribus, and women and men with the same traits are evaluated similarly. Yet, we find two unexpected ways women candidates are disadvantaged in the electoral process. First, we find that citizens prefer candidates who are married with young children, a profile much more common among men than women candidates in practice. Second, we find pervasive qualitative reports of negative campaigning that likely affected citizens’ evaluations of actual women candidates, while not affecting evaluations of hypothetical candidates. We discuss how our results speak to the ways gender biases operate in practice across political contexts.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-10T06:32:19Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019858960
Vote Secrecy With Diverse Voters
- Authors: Daniel W. Gingerich, Danilo Medeiros
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Why would incumbent politicians adopt the secret ballot when doing so weakens the advantages of incumbency' Why is the secret ballot considered a democratizing reform in some settings, whereas in others it is associated with democratic backsliding' We provide theory and empirics to address these questions. Our starting point is the observation that the secret ballot had two consequences. It reduced the capacity to monitor the vote, thereby dampening the efficacy of clientelism. Yet, depending on literacy and electoral rules, it could also narrow political participation. Recognizing this, we endogenize politicians’ preferences over the secret ballot, concentrating on the role of their personal and constituency characteristics. Legislative roll call voting data from Brazil’s Second Republic (1945-1964) is used to test our framework. Consistent with expectations, the level of literacy of legislators’ supporters and the strength of their local ties strongly influenced the choice to adopt the secret ballot.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-08T05:00:01Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019859040
The Ideological Shadow of Authoritarianism
- Authors: Elias Dinas, Ksenia Northmore-Ball
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  How do the labels left and right take on meaning in new democracies' Existing explanations point to the universality of the left–right scheme or, reversely, emphasize regionally dominant social cleavages. We propose an alternative legacy-focused theory based on two observations: Dictatorships are not ideologically neutral and are negatively evaluated by most citizens and elites after democratization. These premises lead us to expect that when the authoritarian regime is associated with the left (right), the citizens of a new democracy will display an antileft (antiright) bias in their left–right self-identification. We test this hypothesis across Latin American and European new democracies. We find significant bias, which in the case of new democracies following left-wing regimes is concealed due to intercohort heterogeneity. Although older cohorts denote a positive bias, cohorts born after Stalin’s era denote negative bias against the left. Consistent with our expectations, repression exacerbates this bias whereas indoctrination mitigates it. Finally, we look at how these biases apply to party preferences. The findings have important implications for understanding authoritarian legacies and party system development in new democracies.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-08T04:58:02Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019852699
To Reform or to Retain' Politicians’ Incentives to Clean Up Corrupt
Courts in Hybrid Regimes
- Authors: Ketevan Bolkvadze
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  This article offers a novel take on the problem of judicial independence in nondemocracies. Some scholars hold that political fragmentation leads to more judicial independence; others argue that it leads to less independence in nondemocracies. These studies have focused on judicial politicization and neglected judicial corruption. Using a process-tracing controlled comparison of reforms in Georgia and Moldova, I investigate the impact of political fragmentation on judicial corruption. I argue that politicians in less fragmented regimes, as in Georgia, have stronger incentives to reform corrupt courts, and utilize anticorruption measures for establishing long-term political control. In more fragmented regimes, as in Moldova, politicians have stronger incentives to resist anticorruption measures and instead utilize corrupt courts for short-term private gains. These findings suggest that political fragmentation in hybrid regimes can propel politicians to delegate neither more, nor less power to courts, but instead to use distinct avenues, or “entry-points,” to influence judicial outcomes.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-04T09:16:21Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019859029
Testing the “China Model” of Meritocratic Promotions: Do Democracies
Reward Less Competent Ministers Than Autocracies'
- Authors: Don S. Lee, Paul Schuler
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Proponents of the “China Model” suggest that autocracies, particularly in East Asia, reward competence more than democracies. However, a competing literature argues that autocracies are less likely to reward competence because autocrats fear that competent officials could challenge for power. We argue that autocracies do not fear technical competence; they fear political competence. As such, autocracies may promote ministers with technical competence but punish the politically competent. Democracies, by contrast, place a premium on political competence when deciding whom to promote. We provide the first test of this theory on how ministerial behavior is rewarded using a unique data set of political performance and promotions in nine East Asian countries. Our findings show that autocracies promote officials with technical competence as long as the ministers limit their political behavior. In democracies, parliamentary and presidential democracies promote those displaying political competence.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-04T09:15:19Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019858962
Backing the Incumbent in Difficult Times: The Electoral Impact of
Wildfires
- Authors: Roberto Ramos, Carlos Sanz
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  How do voters react to shocks that are outside the control of politicians' We address this question by studying the electoral impact of wildfires in Spain in the period 1983-2014. This context allows us to study (a) the effects of fires at different locations and times, as opposed to a specific disaster; (b) the heterogeneous effects by time relative to election day; and (c) the effects on elections for all levels of government. Using a difference-in-difference strategy, we find that an accidental fire up to 9 months ahead of a municipal election increases the incumbent party’s vote share by up to 8 percentage points, whereas a fire earlier in the term does not affect the election results. In addition, fires have no effect on regional or national elections. We discuss the possible mechanisms behind the results in light of the main theories on electoral accountability.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-07-03T09:33:09Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019858959
Is Bigger Always Better' How Targeting Aid Windfalls Affects Capture
and Social Cohesion
- Authors: Laura Paler, Camille Strauss-Kahn, Korhan Kocak
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  A central challenge in development involves ensuring that aid reaches those in greatest need. Aid agencies typically try to achieve this by targeting aid to vulnerable individuals or groups. Despite the prevalence of targeting, we know little about its effects on distributional outcomes and social cohesion in communities where some are intended to benefit and others are excluded. We investigate this by formalizing targeting as a bargaining game with coalition formation involving three players—the target group, the elite, and an excluded group. Our approach yields the counter-intuitive insight that the target group will actually benefit more in communities where elites and the excluded group compete to capture aid. We provide support for predictions using a regression discontinuity design and original survey data from an aid program implemented in Aceh, Indonesia. This article demonstrates the importance of understanding the role of community dynamics in shaping the economic and social outcomes of targeted aid programs.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-06-18T08:48:17Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019852694
Rethinking Democratic Diffusion: Bringing Regime Type Back In
- Authors: Edward Goldring, Sheena Chestnut Greitens
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Studies of democratic diffusion often emphasize geographic proximity: democratization in a country or region makes democratization nearby more likely. We argue that regime type has been underappreciated; authoritarian breakdown and democratization often diffuse along networks of similar regimes. A regime’s type affects its vulnerability to popular challenge, and regime similarity increases the likelihood that protest strategies developed against one regime are effective against similar regimes. We employ a qualitative case study from China to generate our theory, then test it quantitatively and with out-of-sample cases. We find that regime similarity strongly predicts autocratic breakdown and democratic diffusion, making both outcomes more likely. Including regime similarity significantly reduces the effect of geographic proximity, although geographic proximity may increase the effect of regime similarity. Reinterpreting democratic diffusion as a regime-type phenomenon calls for revision to conventional wisdom on the role of international factors in authoritarian breakdown and democratization.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-06-17T06:53:31Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019852701
Democracy and Retribution: Transitional Justice and Regime Support in
Postwar West Germany
- Authors: Giovanni Capoccia, Grigore Pop-Eleches
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  How harshly should perpetrators of past abuses be punished, to reinforce the legitimacy of a new democracy' Drawing on sociopsychological theories, we hypothesize that prodemocratic mass attitudes are favored by the perception that defendants in transitional justice trials have been punished in a way that is morally proportional to their offenses. This perception is shaped by the social categorization of defendants and the opinions about the certainty of their guilt that predominate in the mass public. When defendants are largely seen as co-ethnics and their guilt is contested, like in the West German case, prodemocratic attitudes are likely to be strengthened by lighter punishments and undermined by harsher sanctions. The analysis of subnational variation in patterns of punishment in postwar West Germany confirms this hypothesis and shows that these attitudinal effects persist in the medium term. Our findings have implications for research on transitional justice and democratization.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-06-13T07:16:22Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019852704
Are We All Amazon Primed' Consumers and the Politics of Platform Power
- Authors: Pepper D. Culpepper, Kathleen Thelen
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  This article articulates a distinctive source of political influence of some technology firms, which we call platform power. Platform power inheres in companies of economic scale that provide the terms of access through which large numbers of consumers access goods, services, and information. Firms with platform power benefit from a deference from policymakers, but this deference is not primarily a function of direct influence through lobbying or campaign contributions, nor does it come from the threat of disinvestment. Companies with platform power instead benefit from the tacit allegiance of consumers, who can prove a formidable source of opposition to regulations that threaten these platforms. Focusing on the critical role played by consumers in explaining the powers platform firms wield in the rich democracies lends insight as well into their distinctive vulnerabilities, which flow from events that split the consumer–platform alliance or that cue citizen, as opposed to consumer, political identities.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-06-11T12:23:50Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019852687
Leader Succession and Civil War
- Authors: Andrej Kokkonen, Anders Sundell
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  Leadership succession is a perennial source of instability in autocratic regimes. Despite this, it has remained a curiously understudied phenomenon in political science. In this article, we compile a novel and comprehensive dataset on civil war in Europe and combine it with data on the fate of monarchs in 28 states over 800 years to investigate how autocratic succession affected the risk of civil war. Exploiting the natural deaths of monarchs to identify exogenous variation in successions, we find that successions substantially increased the risk of civil war. The risk of succession wars could, however, be mitigated by hereditary succession arrangements (i.e., primogeniture—the principle of letting the oldest son inherit the throne). When hereditary monarchies replaced elective monarchies in Europe, succession wars declined drastically. Our results point to the importance of the succession, and the institutions governing it, for political stability in autocratic regimes.
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-06-11T12:23:42Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019852712
The Lesser Evil' Corruption Voting and the Importance of Clean
Alternatives
- Authors: Mattias Agerberg
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-06-10T07:16:20Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019852697
The Lay of the Land: Information Capacity and the Modern State
- Authors: Thomas Brambor, Agustín Goenaga, Johannes Lindvall, Jan Teorell
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-05-27T10:09:42Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019843432
The Authoritarian Wager: Political Action and the Sudden Collapse of
Repression
- Authors: Branislav L. Slantchev, Kelly S. Matush
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-05-14T09:45:38Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019843564
Protests and Voter Defections in Electoral Autocracies: Evidence From
Russia
- Authors: Katerina Tertytchnaya
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-05-06T08:32:04Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019843556
Institutions and the “Resource Curse”: Evidence From Cases of
Oil-Related Bribery
- Authors: Paasha Mahdavi
  First page: 3
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-19T09:14:33Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830727
Democracy and the Entanglement of Political Parties and the State:
Party–State Relations in 20th-Century France, Italy, and Germany
Open Access Article
- Authors: P. (Pepijn) Corduwener
  First page: 40
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-04-22T07:00:45Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019843548
Pulling the Strings' The Strategic Use of Pro-Government Mobilization
in Authoritarian Regimes
Open Access Article
- Authors: Sebastian Hellmeier, Nils B. Weidmann
  First page: 71
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-04-25T06:23:26Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019843559
Linkage Switches in Local Elections: Evidence From the Workers’
Party in Brazil
- Authors: Peter G. Johannessen
  First page: 109
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-05-01T06:40:18Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019843567
Tradeoffs of Inclusion: Development in Ancient Athens
- Authors: Federica Carugati
  First page: 144
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-05-06T08:33:39Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019843557
Coalition Agreements, Issue Attention, and Cabinet Governance
- Authors: Heike Klüver, Hanna Bäck
  First page: 1995
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-12T04:37:47Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830726
Policy Regimes and Economic Accountability in Latin America
- Authors: Ryan E. Carlin, Timothy Hellwig
  First page: 2032
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-12T07:22:37Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830731
The Political Conditions for Local Peacemaking: A Comparative Study of
Communal Conflict Resolution in Kenya
- Authors: Emma Elfversson
  First page: 2061
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-12T04:42:59Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830734
Evading the Patronage Trap: Organizational Capacity and Demand Making in
Mexico
- Authors: Brian Palmer-Rubin
  First page: 2097
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-12T04:46:25Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830745
Being There Is Half the Battle: Group Inclusion, Constitution-Writing, and
Democracy
- Authors: Todd A. Eisenstadt, Tofigh Maboudi
  First page: 2135
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-12T04:45:05Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830739
Path Dependence in European Development: Medieval Politics, Conflict, and
State Building
- Authors: Avidit Acharya, Alexander Lee
  First page: 2171
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-12T04:35:47Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830716
Asymmetric Accountability: An Experimental Investigation of Biases in
Evaluations of Governments’ Election Pledges
- Authors: Elin Naurin, Stuart Soroka, Niels Markwat
  First page: 2207
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-15T05:28:13Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830740
Economic Geography, Political Inequality, and Public Goods in the Original
13 U.S. States
- Authors: Pablo Beramendi, Jeffrey Jensen
  First page: 2235
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-18T05:33:38Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830741
Street Demonstrations and the Media Agenda: An Analysis of the Dynamics of
Protest Agenda Setting
- Authors: Will Jennings, Clare Saunders
  First page: 2283
  Abstract: Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
  
  Citation: Comparative Political Studies
  PubDate: 2019-03-19T09:15:33Z
  DOI: 10.1177/0010414019830736