KITLV researcher Ward Berenschot and Edward Aspinall (Australian National University) have published a special issue in the journal Democratization comparing the different forms that clientelistic politics (the practice of exchanging favours for electoral support) takes.

This collection of studies on clientelistic politics in different countries – ranging from, o.a. Malaysia, Ghana, Mexico, Philippines, Turkey, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands – grew out of the book Ward and Edward wrote on Indonesian politics (‘Democracy for Sale’). Realizing that Indonesian politics is rather distinctive, they wanted to further explore the different forms that clientelistic electoral strategies take around the world. In their introductory essay discuss that variation, and present an argument about why it matters: they argue that prevailing forms clientelism shape governance and democracy.

The special issue has contributions from Meredith Weiss, Herbert Kitschelt, Wouter Veenendaal, Jack Corbett, Allen Hicken, Kerem Yıldırım, Barry Driscoll and Ingeborg Denissen.

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