2 - A Theory of Land and Electoral Violence

Summary

Chapter 2 presents the book’s main theory, which links contests over land with the local-level dynamics and escalation of electoral violence. It argues that the escalation of electoral violence is part of an historically-rooted process that includes inequality in land rights between two identity-based groups, the formation of contentious land narratives between these groups, and the mobilization of these land narrative to organize and produce electoral violence. The chapter explains each of these “stages” in the process of violence. It begins by theorizing how inequality in land rights between groups can shape a distinct set of contentious narratives around land. It then explains how these land narratives can shape political action, enabling or restraining the production of violence. The chapter also explains the research design and methodology that provides the evidentiary basis for this theory of electoral violence.