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Civil War and Political Participation: Evidence from Uganda

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  • Giacomo De Luca
  • Marijke Verpoorten

Abstract

We show that armed conflict in Uganda affects civic participation, measured by the frequency of political discussion and local meeting attendance. Relying on four rounds of nationally representative individual-level data on civic participation bracketing a large number of battle events, we find that civic participation increases in districts in which battle events took place. Evidence from a variety of identification strategies, including difference-in-difference and IV estimates, suggest that the relationship is causal. However, unlike previous studies, we find that experiencing violence does not affect formal electoral participation.

Suggested Citation

  • Giacomo De Luca & Marijke Verpoorten, 2015. "Civil War and Political Participation: Evidence from Uganda," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(1), pages 113-141.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:doi:10.1086/682957
    DOI: 10.1086/682957
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    Cited by:

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    2. Shelley X Liu, 2022. "How war-related deprivation affects political participation: Evidence from education loss in Liberia," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 59(3), pages 353-366, May.
    3. Adong, Annet & Kornher, Lukas & Kiptoo Kirui, Oliver & von Braun, Joachim, 2021. "Conflict exposure and food consumption pathways during and after conflict: Evidence from Northern Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    4. Ferguson, Neil T.N. & Leroch, Martin Alois, 2023. "On the behavioral impacts of violence: Evidence from incentivized games in Kenya," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Michal Bauer & Christopher Blattman & Julie Chytilová & Joseph Henrich & Edward Miguel & Tamar Mitts, 2016. "Can War Foster Cooperation?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 249-274, Summer.
    6. Alacevich, Caterina & Zejcirovic, Dijana, 2020. "Does violence against civilians depress voter turnout? Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 841-865.
    7. Sarah Bridges & Douglas Scott, 2022. "Early Childhood Health During Conflict: The Legacy of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(4), pages 694-718, August.
    8. Markus Freitag & Sara Kijewski & Malvin Oppold, 2019. "War experiences, economic grievances, and political participation in postwar societies: An empirical analysis of Kosovo," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 36(4), pages 405-424, July.
    9. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim & Smyth, Russell & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2021. "Early life shocks and entrepreneurship: Evidence from the Vietnam War," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 506-518.
    10. Vinck,Patrick Thierry & O’Mealia,Thomas & Wei,Carol & al-Saiedi,Abdulrazzaq & Irwani,Muslih & Pham,Phuong Ngoc, 2022. "Displacement and Social Empowerment : Evidence from Surveys of IDPs in Iraq, thePhilippines, and Uganda," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10022, The World Bank.
    11. Ingelaere, Bert & Verpoorten, Marijke, 2016. "Inter-ethnic trust in the aftermath of mass violence: insights from large-N life histories," IOB Working Papers 2016.03, Universiteit Antwerpen, Institute of Development Policy (IOB).
    12. Christophe Muller & Marc Vothknecht, 2011. "Group Violence, Ethnic Diversity, and Citizen Participation: Evidence from Indonesia," Research Working Papers 48, MICROCON - A Micro Level Analysis of Violent Conflict.
    13. Djemaï, Elodie & Kevane, Michael, 2023. "Effects of education on political engagement in rural Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    14. Coupé, Tom & Obrizan, Maksym, 2016. "Violence and political outcomes in Ukraine—Evidence from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 201-212.
    15. Ludovico Alcorta & Jeroen Smits & Haley J. Swedlund & Eelke Jong, 2020. "The ‘Dark Side’ of Social Capital: A Cross-National Examination of the Relationship Between Social Capital and Violence in Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 445-465, June.
    16. Giacomo De Luca & Marijke Verpoorten, 2011. "From vice to virtue? Civil war and social capital in Uganda," LICOS Discussion Papers 29811, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    17. Appau, Samuelson & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2021. "The long-term impact of the Vietnam War on agricultural productivity," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    18. Achyuta Adhvaryu & James Fenske, 2014. "Conflict and the Formation of Political Beliefs in Africa," HiCN Working Papers 164, Households in Conflict Network.

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