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Critical Citizens and Submissive Subjects: Election Losers and Winners in Africa

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  • Moehler, Devra C.

Abstract

Elections are thought to bolster legitimacy by providing fair mechanisms for selecting leaders. Survey data from more than 20,000 respondents in twelve African countries demonstrate that in Africa losers of elections are less inclined to trust their political institutions, consent to government authority or feel that voting matters. Contrary to initial expectations, however, losers are more willing than winners to defend their institutions against manipulation by elected officials. Losers in Africa seem critical of their institutions, but nonetheless willing to protect them, while winners seem submissive subjects, granting unconditional support to their current leaders. Finally, losers are much more likely than winners to denounce flawed elections, but losers have additional reasons to doubt the legitimacy of their current institutions.

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  • Moehler, Devra C., 2009. "Critical Citizens and Submissive Subjects: Election Losers and Winners in Africa," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(2), pages 345-366, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:39:y:2009:i:02:p:345-366_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Mayne, Quinton & Hakhverdian, Armen, 2016. "Ideological Congruence and Citizen Satisfaction: Evidence from 25 Advanced Democracies," Scholarly Articles 25302405, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Jonathan Rose & Cees van der Eijk, 2022. "The World Isn’t Fair, but Shouldn’t Elections Be? Evaluating Prospective Beliefs about the Fairness of Elections and Referenda," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-27, May.
    3. Marlene Mauk, 2022. "Electoral integrity matters: how electoral process conditions the relationship between political losing and political trust," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1709-1728, June.

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