Divergent Contexts and Patterns of Violent Elections

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the strategic dynamics inherent in different geographic contexts and different time periods. It considers variations in electoral violence across the electoral cycle, over time, and across regions within countries. The analysis of strategic interactions between actors over the course of the electoral cycle suggests that retaliation can be a factor in the use of physical force, especially in the two months leading up to polling day. Case studies of the Philippines, Tanzania, Jamaica, and Ukraine demonstrate that uneven state capacity and the geography of partisanship help to account for geographic variations within countries in levels of electoral violence. The Tanzanian and Jamaican case studies also show how the way in which leaders and citizenries respond to each other's behavior over time can generate cycles of violence that reforms often fail to fully break.