Conceptualizing Vote Buying as a Process: An Empirical Study in Thai Provinces

Abstract

Vote buying is often conceptualized incorrectly—whether stated or inferred, and usually without being operationalized—as having a simple dichotomous outcome: It is either practiced and it corrupts the electoral process, or it does not. Conceptualizing vote buying in this manner is not only misleading, but it also fails to expose the complex nature of vote buying and its impact on voter turnout. Instead, I conceptualize vote buying as a process that involves specific steps by answering the following questions: How does the vote‐buying process unfold, and does vote buying result in votes for the vote buyer? I use interview data from Thai provinces to understand the experiences and perceptions of ordinary Thais at each step of the vote‐buying process. The results highlight the importance of viewing vote buying as a process, in addition to understanding the relationship between vote buying and voter turnout.