State-Building, Vigilantism, and Political Participation

• In Event: New Explorations of Violence in Africa

Abstract

Vigilante groups are often pointed to as evidence of weak and ineffective states, yet they can also be important sites of collective action and citizen mobilization. This paper studies the effects of vigilantism on political participation. I argue that relying on a vigilante group for security increases the likelihood of individual participation in community demonstrations and contacting local government officials, but only where vigilante groups are autonomous from the government. As local governments incorporate vigilantes into the state apparatus and consolidate their control over the use of violence, political participation declines. The paper uses a nested analysis approach to evaluate the argument. First, I conduct a statistical analysis with Afrobarometer survey data and an original dataset of government-armed group relations in Nigeria. Using the statistical analysis to guide case selection, I then look more closely at the effects of vigilantism on political participation in three Nigerian cities: Lagos, Jos, and Awka. Fine-grained qualitative evidence, including government documents, NGO reports, newspaper media, and interviews with local government officials, vigilantes, and civilians, allows for a careful evaluation of the argument’s causal mechanisms. The findings make two contributions. First, they add to a burgeoning literature on the political and socioeconomic consequences of non-state welfare. Second, they advance our understanding of the relationship between the consolidation of state authority and political participation, raising important questions about state legitimacy. A key mechanism by which states enhance their legitimacy is through the provision of key public goods, such as security. As states build their popular legitimacy, citizens are more likely to invest in public life and increase their political participation. The findings here depart from this view and instead point to a tension between state-building and legitimacy, on the one hand, and political participation, on the other.

Author

• Megan Turnbull, Skidmore College