Structural Inequality and Ethnic Bloc Voting*

Abstract

ObjectiveA large body of ethnic politics literature suggests that horizontal inequalities exacerbate ethnic conflict. However, the relationship between intergroup inequality and ethnic bloc voting behavior has escaped empirical analysis. We test the relationship between ethnic bloc voting and horizontal inequality by examining how relative disparity affects individuals’ probability of supporting the same political party as other co‐ethnics.MethodsThis project uses data from the Integrated World and European Values Survey to test the relationship between relative disparity and ethnic bloc support in ethnically polarized states from 1981 to 2006.ResultsOur findings indicate that the probability of supporting the same party as other co‐ethnics is influenced by within‐group as well as between‐group inequality, while being relatively unaffected by individual‐level income.ConclusionWe conclude that increasing horizontal inequality, and not individual resources, leads to higher rates of ethnically polarized voting, which may lead to greater levels of ethnic conflict.