Buying loyalty: volatile voters and electoral clientelism

Gherghina, S. and Tap, P. (2022) Buying loyalty: volatile voters and electoral clientelism. Politics, (doi: 10.1177/02633957221132707) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Electoral volatility and clientelism were traditionally analysed through the lenses of clientelistic behaviour by political actors. However, we know very little about the importance of volatility for the formation of attitudes towards clientelism within the electorate. This article addresses that gap by analysing the extent to which volatile voters are more likely to accept electoral clientelism as a political practice. We bring evidence from Romania, which is a crucial case due to its extensive use of clientelism in elections over time and high electoral volatility. The analysis uses individual-level data from a survey conducted on a national representative sample of 4316 respondents in 2021. Contrary to the theoretical expectations, the findings illustrate that loyal voters accept clientelism easier, which holds when controlling for variables such as targeting awareness, political interest, income, or education. These results have important implications for the study of elections and voting behaviour.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Research for this article was supported by a project funded by the Romanian Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) with the number PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-0460.
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gherghina, Dr Sergiu
• Authors: Gherghina, S., and Tap, P.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Politics
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 0263-3957
• ISSN (Online): 1467-9256
• Published Online: 04 November 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Politics 2022
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License