The View from Inside the Machine

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the proposition that intranational differences in political culture are one consequence of an uneven political regime landscape in which subnational dominant-party enclaves exist alongside multiparty systems. The chapter offers robust support for this proposition, demonstrating that individuals living in the dominant-party machines that are the focus of this study tend to be less supportive of democracy in the abstract. They also hold more ambivalent views regarding key features of democracy in practice such as limits on executive power and other institutional checks and balances. The conclusion for this chapter examines the role that exposure to corruption and vote-buying efforts plays in shaping citizens’ views toward democracy. The finding is that, indeed, the heightened exposure to such practices in dominant-party enclaves contributes substantially to the lower support for democracy expressed by those individuals living within them.