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  1. Home
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  3. Activist Origins of Political Ambition
  • Cited by 7
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
July 2022
Print publication year:
2022
Online ISBN:
9781009019705
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009019705
Subjects:
Area Studies, African Studies, Law, Comparative Law, Politics and International Relations, African Government, Politics and Policy
Information

Book description

Why do people run for office with opposition parties in electoral authoritarian regimes, where the risks of running are high, and the chances of victory are bleak? In Activist Origins of Political Ambition, Keith Weghorst offers a theory that candidacy decisions are set in motion in early life events and that civic activism experiences and careers in civil society organizations funnel aspirants towards opposition candidacy in electoral authoritarian regimes. The book also adapts existing explanations of candidacy decisions derived from leading democracies that can be applied to electoral authoritarian contexts. The mixed-methods research design features an in-depth study of Tanzania using original survey data, sequence methods, archival research, and qualitative data combined with an analysis of legislators across authoritarian and democratic regimes in Africa. A first-of-its kind study, the book's account of the origins of candidacy motivations offers contributions to its study in autocracies, as well as in leading democracies and the United States.

Reviews

‘Weghorst’s treatment of path dependency - both conceptually and empirically - stands out as one of his key intellectual contributions and is what makes this book important reading for any scholar of political institutions and history. It deserves a broad readership.’

Fiona Shen-Bayh Source: Perspectives on Politics

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