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Money Politics and Discomfort: Cognitive Dissonance among Vote Buying Candidates in Indonesia

Fri, April 1, 5:15 to 7:15pm, Washington State Convention Center, Floor: 6th Floor, Room 602

Abstract

Analyses of clientelism often neglect the influence of religio-cultural factors on politicians who engage in vote buying and related practices. How do candidates justify their involvement in such practices when they conflict with religio-cultural norms, such as Islamic proscriptions of vote buying as a form of sinful bribery? This paper explores the incidence of psychological discomfort or dissonance among Muslim political candidates who engage in behaviours they themselves hold to be religiously prohibited. In the case of religiously-oriented candidates, arguments that vote buying entails compliance with norms of reciprocity and benevolence and is thus justified can in fact be symptomatic of internal mental conflict. By justifying what was previously seen as contravening a religious ruling, such arguments serve as a method of lessening guilt, helping politicians to reconcile their self-images as pious persons with their own problematic political behaviour. Drawing from theories of dissonance in social psychology, this paper analyses the experiences and views of Muslim candidates who ran in Indonesia’s 2014 legislative elections. Based on interviews with, and observations of campaign activities by, approximately 65 candidates, as well as a survey of 237 Muslim candidates running for Islamic and nationalist parties in four districts in East Java, South Kalimantan and West Sumatra, the paper explores the nature and effects of dissonance among politicians who engage in vote buying and other forms of ‘money politics’. By doing so, it shows how theories of psychological dissonance can enrich the literature on clientelist politics.

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