Valence Issues in African Elections

Navigating Uncertainty and the Weight of the Past

Bibliographic Data

ID6246715
AuthorsJ Bleck (0000-0002-8820-4491, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA), Nicolas Van De Walle (0000-0003-4004-860X, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA)
Year2013
Volume46
Issue11
Pages1394-1421
Publication date2013-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Political Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0010-4140 • E-ISSN: 1552-3829
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0010414012453448
OpenAlexW2044810429
LanguageEN
Citations received84
References cited41

Previous analyses of African politics have mistaken parties’ dearth of position taking on issues as an absence of substantive electoral debate. The authors demonstrate that political parties tackle substantive issues during African elections, but generally voice them through valence appeals rather than by staking out distinct positions. The authors theorize that uncertainty, coupled with the single-party heritage and the elite dominance of African electoral politics, leads parties to employ valence discourse in their national election campaigns. With evidence from 950 newspaper articles during seven election cycles in African countries, the authors show that politicians predominantly use valence discourse when discussing political issues in the period approaching elections. They find tentative evidence that opposition actors are more likely to take positions than incumbents, and that civil society is more likely to raise position issues than political parties. This contribution aims to enrich the debate on electoral issues in Africa, but also draw greater attention to the potential impact of valence discourse on party systems in a comparative context

Dominance (genetics · Elite · General election · Newspaper · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Valence (chemistry · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · International Development and Aid · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub