Multiethnic Democracy

Who are the swing voters in multiethnic democracies? How much effort do parties invest in courting the swing relative to mobilizing supporters in their core ethnic bases? And how does this balance affect the policies leaders propose - and implement - if elected? This book examines the logic of electoral competition and policymaking in the context of Kenya's emerging multiparty democracy. Using data on voters, campaigns, and policy outcomes, it shows that the pursuit of the swing encourages presidential candidates to offer broad, inclusive promises and for election winners to opt for universal policies that share benefits widely. In doing so, it challenges the view - common to both popular accounts and scholarly work - that where ethnicity ispolitically salient, multiparty competition inevitably leads parties to focus their electoral efforts on mobilizing narrow ethnic factions and to concentrate rewards on ethnic clientele. Oxford Studies in African Politics and International…