Rejecting Ethnic Pandering in Urban Africa: A Survey Experiment on Voter Preferences in Nairobi, Kenya

2021 ◽  
pp. 106591292110405
Author(s):  
Hye-Sung Kim ◽  
Jeremy Horowitz
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Political Mobilization ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Effective Strategy ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Urban Africa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Vignette Experiment

Ethnic pandering, in which candidates promise to cater to the interests of coethnic voters, is presumed to be an effective strategy for increasing electoral support in Africa’s emerging multiethnic democracies. However, ethnic political mobilization may be disdained by citizens for its divisive and polarizing effects, particularly in urban areas. As a result, pandering may fall on deaf ears among Africa’s urban voters. This study examines how voters in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, respond to ethnic pandering using data from a vignette experiment conducted in 2015 and a replication study implemented in 2016. Results show that respondents are more supportive of candidates who make ethnically inclusive rather than targeted appeals, regardless of whether the candidate is identified as a coethnic. We propose that the results are driven by a broad distaste among urban voters for parochial politics, rather than by strategic calculations related to candidate viability.

Interculturalism and the Acceptance of Minority Groups

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maykel Verkuyten ◽  
Kumar Yogeeswaran
Keyword(s):  
Minority Groups ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Social Psychological Research ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Situational Effect

Abstract. Multiculturalism has been criticized and rejected by an increasing number of politicians, and social psychological research has shown that it can lead to outgroup stereotyping, essentialist thinking, and negative attitudes. Interculturalism has been proposed as an alternative diversity ideology, but there is almost no systematic empirical evidence about the impact of interculturalism on the acceptance of migrants and minority groups. Using data from a survey experiment conducted in the Netherlands, we examined the situational effect of promoting interculturalism on acceptance. The results show that for liberals, but not for conservatives, interculturalism leads to more positive attitudes toward immigrant-origin groups and increased willingness to engage in contact, relative to multiculturalism.

President Obama and the Emergence of Islamophobia in Mass Partisan Preferences

2021 ◽  
pp. 106591292110072
Author(s):  
Michael Tesler
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Independent Predictor ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
President Obama ◽  
Significant Independent Predictor ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Panel Surveys ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Relationship

This article argues that the unusually large and persistent association between Islamophobia and opposition to President Obama helped make attitudes about Muslims a significant, independent predictor of Americans’ broader partisan preferences. After detailing the theoretical basis for this argument, the article marshals repeated cross-sectional data, two panel surveys, and a nationally representative survey experiment, to test its hypotheses. The results from those analyses show the following: (1) attitudes about Muslims were a significantly stronger independent predictor of voter preferences for congress in 2010–2014 elections than they were in 2004–2008; (2) attitudes about Muslims were a significantly stronger independent predictor of mass partisanship during Obama’s presidency than they were beforehand; and (3) experimentally connecting Obama to Democratic congressional candidates significantly increased the relationship between anti-Muslim sentiments and Americans’ preferences for Republican congressional candidates. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results for American politics in the Trump era.

Land Loss with Compensation: What Are the Determinants of Income Among Households in Central Vietnam?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-55
Author(s):  
Nguyen Quang Phuc ◽  
A. C. M. (Guus) van Westen ◽  
Annelies Zoomers
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Skill Training ◽  
Land Loss ◽  
Central Vietnam ◽  
Compensation Packages ◽  
Household Members ◽  
The Government ◽  
Using Data

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of household income following the loss of land owing to urban expansion in central Vietnam. Using data mainly from household surveys in the peri-urban areas of Hue city, the regression model indicates that demographic factors and livelihood strategy choices have important impacts on household income; financial compensation and support packages do not appear to be strong determinants of household income after the loss of land. This implies a failure of the current compensation programmes in the process of compulsory land acquisition, because the government believes that compensation packages make important contributions to livelihood reconstruction. This study suggests that investing in education and skill training for household members affected by land loss as well as assistance in converting compensation money into an adequate livelihood should be taken into consideration.

Electoral Manipulation and Regime Support

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ora John Reuter ◽  
David Szakonyi
Keyword(s):  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Electoral Fraud ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Regime Support ◽  
Core Base ◽  
Ruling Party

ABSTRACT Does electoral fraud stabilize authoritarian rule or undermine it? The answer to this question rests in part on how voters evaluate regime candidates who engage in fraud. Using a survey experiment conducted after the 2016 elections in Russia, the authors find that voters withdraw their support from ruling party candidates who commit electoral fraud. This effect is especially large among strong supporters of the regime. Core regime supporters are more likely to have ex ante beliefs that elections are free and fair. Revealing that fraud has occurred significantly reduces their propensity to support the regime. The authors’ findings illustrate that fraud is costly for autocrats not just because it may ignite protest, but also because it can undermine the regime’s core base of electoral support. Because many of its strongest supporters expect free and fair elections, the regime has strong incentives to conceal or otherwise limit its use of electoral fraud.

scholarly journals Ecological variation in wealth–fertility relationships in Mongolia: the ‘central theoretical problem of sociobiology’ not a problem after all?

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1796) ◽  
pp. 20141733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Alvergne ◽  
Virpi Lummaa
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Market Integration ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
Theoretical Problem ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Mass Privatization ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Socioeconomic Success ◽  
Status Enhancement

The negative wealth–fertility relationship brought about by market integration remains a puzzle to classic evolutionary models. Evolutionary ecologists have argued that this phenomenon results from both stronger trade-offs between reproductive and socioeconomic success in the highest social classes and the comparison of groups rather than individuals. Indeed, studies in contemporary low fertility settings have typically used aggregated samples that may mask positive wealth–fertility relationships. Furthermore, while much evidence attests to trade-offs between reproductive and socioeconomic success, few studies have explicitly tested the idea that such constraints are intensified by market integration. Using data from Mongolia, a post-socialist nation that underwent mass privatization, we examine wealth–fertility relationships over time and across a rural–urban gradient. Among post-reproductive women, reproductive fitness is the lowest in urban areas, but increases with wealth in all regions. After liberalization, a demographic–economic paradox emerges in urban areas: while educational attainment negatively impacts female fertility in all regions, education uniquely provides socioeconomic benefits in urban contexts. As market integration progresses, socio-economic returns to education increase and women who limit their reproduction to pursue education get wealthier. The results support the view that selection favoured mechanisms that respond to opportunities for status enhancement rather than fertility maximization.

Regionální disparity ve voličském chování: Prostorová analýza voličské podpory České pirátské strany v krajských volbách

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Maškarinec
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Data ◽  
Regional Policy ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Spatial Data Analysis ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Regional Politics ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Regional Elections

The presented paper deals with the regionalization of the electoral support of the Czech Pirate Party (Pirates) in regional elections using methods and techniques of spatial data analysis. The aim is to answer the question whether the territorial distribution of Pirate electoral support allows this party to participate in governance at the regional level and thus influence the form of regional policy in individual regions. The results of the analysis show that the spatial distribution of Pirates’ electoral support in regional elections differed quite significantly not only from the pattern found in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament and elections to the European Parliament, but also between individual regional elections. This suggests the current lack of anchorage of Pirates’ electoral support in regional politics, but at the same time, it may have its origins in the second-order character of regional elections and the candidacy of many local and regional entities in regional elections. On the other hand, the results of the regional elections in 2020 meant that the Pirates received seats in all regional councils, but especially in nine of the thirteen regions they joined the regional government (similarly to two years earlier when they joined government of capital city of Prague), gaining the opportunity to influence, with regard to its priorities, the form of regional governance in most Czech regions.

The City of Oslo in Jan Erik Vold’s Poems

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-230
Author(s):  
Raluca-Daniela Duinea
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Criticism ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Reading Technique ◽  
Social Critical ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The City ◽  
Selection Of

"The City of Oslo in Jan Erik Vold’s Poems. The aim of this paper is to examine, from a cultural and social perspective, the Norwegian urban areas and everyday situations in Jan Erik Vold’s (b. 1939) poems. Our close-reading technique reveals important social aspects, different places and streets, located in the capital city of Norway, Oslo. These urban poems written by the contemporary Norwegian poet Jan Erik Vold contribute to the reconstruction of a new Norwegian cultural identity as it is reflected in a selection of poems taken from Mor Godhjertas glade versjon. Ja (Mother Goodhearted’s Happy Version. Yes, 1968), followed by the poet’s wanderings in the city of Oslo in En som het Abel Ek (One Named Abel Ek, 1988), and concluding with his bitter social criticism in Elg (Moose, 1989) and IKKE. Skillingstrykk fra nittitallet (Not: Broadsides from the Nineties, 1993). Vold’s urban poems emphasise the transition from nyenkle (new simple), friendly and descriptive poems which present closely the city of Oslo on foot, to short, political and social critical poems from the 90s. Thus, it is of great importance to traverse various urban ‘landscapes’ in different periods of time, beginning with the 1960s, followed by the 80s and the 90s. Keywords: Jan Erik Vold, urban poems, social criticism, Norwegian urban areas, the city of Oslo "

Urban Homeownership and Mental Health: Mediating Effect of Perceived Sense of Control

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim R. Manturuk
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Sense Of Control ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Subjective Trust ◽  
Control Part

What are the mechanisms responsible for homeowners’ better mental health? Social disorganization theory suggests that the relationship between homeownership and mental health is mediated by perceived sense of control, trust in neighbors, and residential stability. This hypothesis is tested using data collected from respondents in 30 low–wealth urban areas. Using propensity score matching and regression models, I find that low–income homeowners report a greater sense of control and trust in their neighbors than comparable renters. Homeownership likewise has an impact on mental health, but the effect is entirely mediated by perceived sense of control. Part of that mediating effect is related to avoiding serious delinquency in mortgage payments. However, subjective trust and residential mobility did not mediate the relationship between homeownership and mental health. The study findings are discussed in light of the need for a cohesive theory of homeownership, particularly given changing economic realities.

Contextual Density and US Automotive CO2 Emissions across the Rural–Urban Continuum

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 590-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Perumal ◽  
David Timmons
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Household Travel ◽  
Vehicle Fuel Efficiency ◽  
National Household Travel Survey

Using data from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey, we quantify the effects of settlement patterns on individual driving habits and the resulting automotive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We employ CO2 emissions to capture this impact accurately, as it reflects both vehicle miles traveled and any spatial differences in vehicle fuel efficiency choices. While previous studies have compared automotive travel in urban and suburban areas, our approach characterizes emissions across the entire US rural–urban gradient, focusing on the effects of population density. Rather than using categorical measures of contextual density (city, suburb, town, etc.), we use a geographical information system to calculate continuous measures of contextual density, that is, density at different proximities to households. These measures of contextual density allow us to model travel effects induced by the gravitational pull of the population densities of urban cores. Further, our methodological approach frames location choice as an endogenous treatment effect; that is, residential locations are not randomly assigned across our sample and significantly alter driving behavior. We find that individuals living in urban cores generate the lowest per capita automotive CO2 emissions, due to close proximities of population concentrations. Rather than attracting individuals who would likely have low CO2 emissions anyway, urban location apparently mitigates the emissions of people who would otherwise tend to have high automotive CO2 emissions. We find larger elasticities with respect to density than previous studies and also find that the attractive forces of population densities affect driving patterns at distances up to sixty-one kilometers outside of urban areas.

scholarly journals Partisan Ambivalence and Electoral Decision Making

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Craig ◽  
Paulina Cossette ◽  
Michael Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Campaign Ads ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Negative Feelings ◽  
Democrats And Republicans ◽  
High Degree

American politics today is driven largely by deep divisions between Democrats and Republicans. That said, there are many people who view the opposition in an overwhelmingly negative light – but who simultaneously possess a mix of positive and negative feelings toward their own party. This paper is a response to prior research (e.g., Lavine, Johnson, and Steenbergen 2012) indicating that such ambivalence increases the probability that voters will engage in "deliberative" (or "effortful") rather than "heuristic" thinking when responding to the choices presented to them in political campaigns. We extend the logic of this argument to a hypothetical race for Congress, using data from a survey experiment to determine whether a high degree of ambivalence toward one's party makes voters more responsive to a negative attack against the candidate of that party. In fact, we find little evidence that partisan ambivalence promotes a deliberative response to negative campaign ads.

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