POL30850

Why do people in developing countries make the political choices that they do? What do citizens in these countries expect from their politicians and under what conditions can they get elites to be responsive to their needs? Why do ethnic, sectarian, or clientelistic linkages often trump anger about inefficient or corrupt politicians? Lastly, how can national and international civil society initiatives improve government performance and responsiveness?

This module engages with academic research and policy initiatives that address these questions. We will study political beliefs, preferences, and political behavior of citizens in developing countries. We will look at what they think about democracy and what beliefs they hold about how well governments do in addressing their needs. We will understand motives behind ethnic or clientelistic voting and how political elites might encourage and benefit from these voting rationales. Last, we will study international, governmental, and civil society initiatives intended to empower more disadvantaged segments of the citizenry in countries as diverse as Uganda, Brazil, India, Mali or Indonesia, among many others. These include quota systems, score card initiatives where the quality of services or politicians is evaluated, as well as voter education and information campaigns that inform about citizenship and rights or negative consequences of vote-selling.

In 2020, this module will be delivered online. The module will combine lectures and group activities. In each week, we will look at 2-3 countries, using them as case studies of a broader question. Throughout the module, we will use policy reports, data from opinion surveys (such as the Barometer series), governance indicators (such as the World Bank accountability data), or data on political competition to look directly into how broader themes play out in particular countries. No previous knowledge about data analysis is required and step by step explanations on how to use and interpret these different data sources will be provided. A willingness to engage with such empirical data is expected but fear of data is not an obstacle.