Fear of Election Violence, Urban Geography, and Democratic Participation

• In Event: Contentious Politics: Elections, Social Movements, and Violence

Abstract

Urban Africa enjoys democratic vitality and competition, but violence has the potential to curb meaningful political participation and reinforce political inequalities. In this paper, we outline the theory, hypotheses, preliminary evidence, and a survey research design on the electoral geography of fear of election violence in urban Zambia. We study how specific categories of voters become politically excluded by fear of violence. We hypothesize that local majorities use violence to control space and limit democratic participation by local minorities. We conceptualize participation broadly and hypothesize that violence most notably restricts more visible forms of democratic participation, such as attending campaign rallies, participating in political campaigns or discussions. As such, violence supports local political hegemony and reinforces political exclusion by de-mobilizing marginalized groups. We use data from a recent pilot project for proof of concept.

Authors

• Inken von Borzyskowski, University College London (UCL)

• Michael Wahman, Michigan State University