Overview

Violence in election campaigns is common across the African continent and beyond. According to some estimations, most African elections contain some degree of violence and most of this violence happens before elections, during the campaign. While campaign violence is a common problem, it affects citizens differently across localities. When violence and intimidation become an integral part of election campaigns in a locality, they become tools of sub-national authoritarianism that may effectively dismantle local democracy. This book focuses on the political geography of election violence in Africa, building on one important observation: elections in many African countries are highly regional and the support for political parties are rarely nationalized. Wahman argues that in such environments, campaign violence becomes an important tool used by parties to control and regulate access to space. Building on a wealth of data and extensive fieldwork in Zambia and Malawi, the author uses a combination of electoral geography analysis, constituency-level election violence data collected from local election monitors, focus group interviews, archival material, and individual-level survey data to show how campaign violence in both countries is used as a territorial tool, predominantly within party strongholds. Oxford Studies in African Politics and International Relations is a series for scholars and students working on African politics and International Relations and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on contemporary developments in African political science, political economy, and International Relations, such as electoral politics, democratization, decentralization, the political impact of natural resources, the dynamics and consequences of conflict, and the nature of the continent's engagement with the East and West. Comparative and mixed methods work is particularly encouraged. Case studies are welcomed but should demonstrate the broader theoretical and empirical implications of the study and its wider relevance to contemporary debates. The series focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, although proposals that explain how the region engages with North Africa and other parts of the world are of interest. General Editors Nic Cheeseman, Peace Medie, and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.

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9780198872825

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Reviews

"Michael Wahman advances an eloquent theory and offers rich original data that takes territory seriously... This richly detailed and insightful book makes valuable contributions to scholarship on election violence, subnational authoritarianism, and democratization in Africa and beyond... The book's argument and findings point to important questions for future research. * Megan Turnbull, African Studies Review * Wahman develops [his] arguments insightfully and shows later in the book that they hold true for other countries beyond the scope of his study. * Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs * Controlling Territory, Controlling Voters unlocks an entirely new area of research for scholars to explore the unique dynamics of African electoral geography. Thus, the book is a must read not just for scholars of electoral violence, but for anyone interested in political behavior or electoral campaigns in Africa. * Natalie Wenzell Letsa, African Studies Review * Drawing on very careful case studies of Zambia and Malawi, Wahman uses a variety of data sources to show how election violence is used to maintain ""geographically polarized [party] systems."" Like the rest of Wahman's work, the book is meticulously researched and very careful about the strengths and weaknesses of the data presented. * Adrienne Lebas, African Studies Review * Recommended. * Choice *"

Michael Wahman advances an eloquent theory and offers rich original data that takes territory seriously... This richly detailed and insightful book makes valuable contributions to scholarship on election violence, subnational authoritarianism, and democratization in Africa and beyond... The book's argument and findings point to important questions for future research. * Megan Turnbull, African Studies Review * Wahman develops [his] arguments insightfully and shows later in the book that they hold true for other countries beyond the scope of his study. * Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs * Controlling Territory, Controlling Voters unlocks an entirely new area of research for scholars to explore the unique dynamics of African electoral geography. Thus, the book is a must read not just for scholars of electoral violence, but for anyone interested in political behavior or electoral campaigns in Africa. * Natalie Wenzell Letsa, African Studies Review *

Author Information

Michael Wahman is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. Previously he held research and teaching positions at University of Missouri, London School of Economics, and University of Texas at Austin. His research on African elections and democratization has been published in journals such as American Political Science Review, British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Politics, Journal of Peace Research, and Political Geography.

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