From Recognition to Representation: Indigenous Institutions and Citizenship

• In Event: The Political Economy of Rule Law: Courts, Land Rights and Legal Recognition

Abstract

How does the granting of collective self-determination rights to indigenous communities affect voting behavior and the quality of democratic governance? States around the world recognize indigenous institutions, in many cases devolving substantial powers over land and the administration of justice. A growing literature acknowledges the role of traditional institutions in shaping political behavior in modern democratic states, but few have examined the effects of state recognition explicitly. To address this gap, I conduct a survey experiment among indigenous communities in three provinces in the Philippines. Contrary to predictions suggested by existing literature, I do not find evidence that providing information about state policies recognizing indigenous institutions unconditionally increases the influence of indigenous leaders on vote choice in a hypothetical election for local office. Instead, the prime made respondents more likely to favor candidates who signal the delivery of future community-level benefits from the state and less likely to favor those who engage in vote-buying. I supplement these experimental findings with analysis of variation in collective land titles granted to indigenous communities and find evidence that land titling is associated with more bloc-voting at the precinct level, but increased electoral competition overall. These findings provide suggestive evidence that, rather than distorting or undermining democracy, state recognition has the potential to increase meaningful political participation and electoral accountability to affected communities.

Author

• Nina Katherine Siegel McMurry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology