The Political Economy of Rural Mobilization and Threat in the Developing World

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Rural masses in the developing world have frequently been argued to lack the capacity to engage in collective action and thus threaten the political survival of rulers. Particularly in autocracies, their large numbers are said to bloat the cost of mobilization while minimizing per capita stakes, whereas the distance to the centers of political power further reduces their threat potential. The assumed results are policies unfavorable to rural masses, particularly smallholders, and the neglect of their grievances. In recent years, however, a growing political science literature has presented evidence that rural masses can indeed constitute and turn into threats to authoritarian governments, whether through the ballot or violent means, reflected through the avoidance or withdrawal of policies that would affect them negatively. This panel hosts papers that add to this research by identifying under which conditions such threats can emerge. They employ both qualitative and quantitative methods, using data from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 12: Comparative Politics in Developing Countries

Individual Presentations

• Agricultural Production Shocks, Resilience and Rural Conflict - Nina von Uexkull, Uppsala University

• Buying off the Revolution: Evidence from the Colombian National Peasant Movement - Maria Del Pilar Lopez Uribe, London School of Economics

• Group Size, Attribution, and the Politics of Export Bans in Africa - Nicolai Schulz, London School of Economics and Political Science

Chair

• Henry Thomson Arizona State University

Discussants

• Yannick Immanuel Pengl ETH Zurich

• Jan Henryk Pierskalla Ohio State University