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The Cleavage Model, Ethnicity and Voter Alignment in Africa: Conceptual and Methodological Problems Revisited

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  • Gero Erdmann

    () (GIGA Institute of African Affairs)

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    Abstract

    Recent research on political parties and ethnicity has challenged the conventional wisdom about ethnicity as the major factor that explains voter alignment in Africa. The paper maintains that the cleavage model, although modified to include ethnicity, still provides heuristically the best foundation for the explanation of party formation and voting behaviour in Africa. It points out that inconclusive and contradicting research results about the salience of ethnicity can be attributed to a variety of unresolved methodological and conceptual problems linked to the ‘fluidity’ of the concept of ethnicity. To overcome these problems refined research designs and more sophisticated analytical tools are required. Finally, it is safe to assume that the relevance of ethnicity for the formation of party systems and voter alignment is not a uniform pattern across Africa, but will differ from one country to the other.

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    File URL: http://repec.giga-hamburg.de/pdf/giga_07_wp63_erdmann.pdf
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    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies in its series GIGA Working Paper Series with number 63.

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    Length: 31 pages
    Date of creation: Dec 2007
    Date of revision:
    Handle: RePEc:gig:wpaper:63

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    Related research

    Keywords: Africa; social cleavages; cleavage model; ethnicity; political parties; party systems;

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    Cited by:
    1. Andreas Mehler, 2009. "Reshaping Political Space? The Impact of the Armed Insurgency in the Central African Republic on Political Parties and Representation," GIGA Working Paper Series 116, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    2. Michael Bratton & Mwangi S. Kimenyi, 2008. "Voting in Kenya: Putting Ethnicity in Perspective," Working papers 2008-09, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    3. Mwangi S. Kimenyi & Roxana Gutierrez Romero, 2008. "Identity, Grievances, and Economic Determinants of Voting in the 2007 Kenyan Elections," Working papers 2008-38, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.

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