Life in the Political Machine : Dominant-Party Enclaves and the Citizens They Produce

Présentation de l'éditeur : "Against the backdrop of a world characterized by highly uneven democracies, in which subnational dominant-party enclaves persist within nationally democratic regimes, this book explores the ways in which these enclaves shape the political attitudes and behaviors of citizens who reside in them. Through analysis of a decade's worth of survey data across the 55 provinces and states of Argentina and Mexico, this study finds a distinct subnational political culture among individuals nested in dominant-party enclaves. This culture is characterized by heightened exposure to corruption and vote buying, low levels of support for democratic principles, and patterns of political behavior that reflect the governing characteristics of the political machines that citizens must confront on a daily basis. In contrast, among those individuals living in subnational political systems that have successfully shut down the machine, the work finds a political culture more akin to that found in established democracies. As such, this book provides extensive support for the need to more fully incorporate subnational political dynamics into accounts of the drivers behind citizens' political attitudes and behaviors, in an era in which democracies across the world appear increasingly at risk." Whether in the northern provinces of Argentina, the central states of Mexico, or the southern states of the United States, less-than-democratic subnational regimes are often found within democratic national political systems. However, little is known about how or if these subnational pockets foster political attitudes and behavior that threaten the democratic norms that exist at the national level.Life in the Political Machine offers one of the first systematic explorations of the ways in which subnational "dominant-party enclaves" influence citizens' political attitudes and behaviors through a focus on the provinces and states of Argentina and Mexico. Specifically, the authors find starkly divergent patterns of political attitudes and behaviors among citizens in dominant-party enclaves as opposed to those living in competitive multiparty systems. In the latter, the authors find a political culture that approximates what scholars have long documented in established democracies. In the former, they uncover three factors--the politicization of the rule of law, an uneven electoral playing field, and the partisan cooptation of state resources--that strongly shape citizens' understanding of democratic principles, accountability, and political participation. The authors argue that this environment erodes public support for democracy at the national level and that these local strongholds of illiberalism thus provide added fuel to the recent drift from democracy globally. Ultimately, this book calls for greater attention to subnational variations in citizens' political attitudes and behaviors in order to more fully understand the process through which a national democratic political culture can emerge. Whether in the northern provinces of Argentina, the central states of Mexico, or the southern states of the United States, less-than-democratic subnational regimes are often found within democratic national political systems. However, little is known about how or if these subnational pockets foster political attitudes and behavior that threaten the democratic norms that exist at the national level. Life in the Political Machine offers one of the first systematic explorations of the ways in which subnational "dominant-party enclaves" influence citizens' political attitudes and behaviors through a focus on the provinces and states of Argentina and Mexico. Specifically, the authors find starkly divergent patterns of political attitudes and behaviors among citizens in dominant-party enclaves as opposed to those living in competitive multiparty systems. In the latter, the authors find a political culture that approximates what scholars have long documented in established democracies. In the former, they uncover three factors--the politicization of the rule of law, an uneven electoral playing field, and the partisan cooptation of state resources--that strongly shape citizens' understanding of democratic principles, accountability, and political participation. The authors argue that this environment erodes public support for democracy at the national level and that these local strongholds of illiberalism thus provide added fuel to the recent drift from democracy globally. Ultimately, this book calls for greater attention to subnational variations in citizens' political attitudes and behaviors in order to more fully understand the process through which a national democratic political culture can emerge. "Against the backdrop of a world characterized by highly uneven democracies, in which subnational dominant-party enclaves persist within nationally democratic regimes, 'Life in the Political Machine' explores the ways in which these enclaves shape the political attitudes and behaviors of citizens who reside in them. Through analysis of a decade's worth of survey data across the fifty-five provinces and states of Argentina and Mexico, this study finds a distinct subnational political culture among individuals nested in dominant-party enclaves, characterized by heightened exposure to corruption and vote buying, low levels of support for democratic principles, and patterns of political behavior that reflect the governing characteristics of the political machines citizens must confront on a daily basis. In contrast, among those individuals living in subnational political systems that have successfully shut down the machine, the work finds a political culture more akin to that found in established democracies. As such, this book provides extensive support for the need to more fully incorporate subnational political dynamics into accounts of the drivers behind citizens' political attitudes and behaviors, in an era in which democracies across the world appear increasingly at risk."-- Provided by publisher Présentation de l'éditeur : "Against the backdrop of a world characterized by highly uneven democracies, in which subnational dominant-party enclaves persist within nationally democratic regimes, this book explores the ways in which these enclaves shape the political attitudes and behaviors of citizens who reside in them. Through analysis of a decade's worth of survey data across the 55 provinces and states of Argentina and Mexico, this study finds a distinct subnational political culture among individuals nested in dominant-party enclaves. This culture is characterized by heightened exposure to corruption and vote buying, low levels of support for democratic principles, and patterns of political behavior that reflect the governing characteristics of the political machines that citizens must confront on a daily basis. In contrast, among those individuals living in subnational political systems that have successfully shut down the machine, the work finds a political culture more akin to that found in established democracies. As such, this book provides extensive support for the need to more fully incorporate subnational political dynamics into accounts of the drivers behind citizens' political attitudes and behaviors, in an era in which democracies across the world appear increasingly at risk." 'Life in the Political Machine' explores the political lives of everyday citizens who find themselves embedded in subnational dominant-party enclaves that lie within national-level democracies. While we know quite a bit about why such enclaves emerge and persist, we know very little about how those individuals living within them think about and engage with politics. This text offers one of the first systematic explorations of the ways in which subnational 'dominant-party enclaves' influence citizens' political attitudes and behaviours through a focus on the provinces and states of Argentina and Mexico Title_Pages 1 Acknowledgments 7 Welcome_to_the_Machine 12 DominantParty_Citizens 32 Conceptualizing_and_Measuring_DominantParty_Enclaves 61 Tilling_the_Soil_of_an_Uneven_LandscapeDirty_Politics_in_DominantParty_Enclaves 95 The_View_from_Inside_the_MachineDemocratic_Attitudes_in_DominantParty_Enclaves 121 Severed_LinkagesDistorted_Accountability_in_DominantParty_Enclaves 150 Stacking_the_DeckPolitical_Participation_in_DominantParty_Enclaves 179 Conclusion 213 Appendix 234 References 255 Index 271