Clientelistic Networks Research Articles

Political Clientelism in Mexico: Bridging the Gap between Citizens and the State

AbstractThis article explores practices of political clientelism in a native village in Mexico City during recent elections (2006, 2012), aiming to create more conceptual clarity and to demonstrate the usefulness of ethnographic approaches. Seen from the clients' and the brokers' perspective, political clientelism and vote buying are two different practices, carried out in different ways, with different degrees of legitimacy. The problem-solving network studied here bridges the gap between the citizen and the state, while the political operators hope to be rewarded with public employment. In this case, one candidate-patron changed parties a few months before the 2012 elections, and the electoral statistics provide indications of the numerical effectiveness of his clientelist network. Multiparty competition, instead of undermining clientelist practices, appears to “democratize” them.

Eroding the Clientelist Monopoly: The Subnational Left Turn and Conservative Rule in Northeastern Brazil

Well-financed opposition parties can exert their organizational strength to undercut the territorial advantages of political machines and clientele networks. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, leftist parties in Brazil’s Northeast region brought conservative dominance to an end. The Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT) led this shift, not only garnering regional majorities in presidential elections but also winning multiple governorships and increasing its share of federal and state legislative seats in the region. In contrast to arguments attributing recent electoral shifts in the Northeast to civil society, aggregate growth, and conditional cash transfers, we argue that the territorial expansion of the PT organization played a central role. A spike in party finances between 2001 and 2003 enabled the PT, for the first time, to establish party offices in northeastern municipalities from the top down. Drawing from underutilized data and sources, we show that the PT leadership eroded conservatives’ monopoly on rural territory in the Northeast by strategically targeting hundreds of conservative-dominated municipalities and investing resources to stimulate the formation of local offices. The study demonstrates that this top-down territorial targeting produced considerable electoral gains for PT candidates across federal and state races.

Networks of violence and becoming: youth and the politics of patronage in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta

ABSTRACTThis article argues that access to clientelistic networks is central to the ability of youth to engage in violent activities in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta. Even though the literature has demonstrated that the contradictions of oil wealth and economic neglect provide the backdrop for conflict in the region, the actual channels through which it becomes possible to activate incentives for violence have not been properly addressed. It also points out that a fixation on the narrative of resistance has undermined our ability to engage with other critical variables such as social codes of masculinity, survival and ‘becoming’ which play very central roles in animating violent networks in the region. Drawing evidence from interview data, the article uses the lived experiences of ‘ex-militants’ to highlight these points as well as to raise questions about the applications of neopatrimonial theory to governance projects in African states.

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Political Clientelism and Patronage in Turkey

The growth of interdisciplinary work in Turkish Studies has increased the likelihood that the findings will reach an audience in the academic world beyond those specializing in Turkey's history, politics, and society. Clientelism and patronage represent genuinely interdisciplinary concepts and they have been used widely in the social sciences and humanities. The main purpose of this paper is to assess the contribution of clientelism and patronage to the interdisciplinary approaches in Turkish Studies, with special emphasis on the origins and growth of party politics in Turkey. Since the mid-1970s, there have been two major research waves on political clientelism in Turkey. While the main focus of the early studies was on traditional patron–client relations in the provincial small-towns and villages, recent research has been primarily concerned with clientelistic networks and patronage distribution among the urban poor in the low-income districts of the major cities, especially Istanbul. Programmatic appeals, popularity of the leaders, and the management of the economy are important in shaping the preferences of the voters in Turkey. But an equally important factor is the distribution of goods and services in exchange for votes through political clientelism and patronage.

Political clientelism in Turkish sports federations

Research question: The present study poses the question: are clientelistic relations present between sport federations and political power, and if yes, how are these exhibited?Research methods: The qualitative research approach to data collection included interviews with stakeholder representatives, analyses of legal/political documents and assessment of press coverage. The stakeholder interviews were conducted with the presidents and board members of sports federations and bureaucrats from the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sport (n = 8).Results and findings: The findings confirmed the presence of clientelistic networks in Turkish sports. Notably, the election process for presidents and board members was manipulated by politicians, and ‘their own people’ were supported in gaining management positions. At the operational level, the events and decisions of federations were manipulated by the political power for politicians’ interests. Additionally, the allocation of budgets and the ease of accessing funds were shown to advantage politically supported ‘client’ federations.Implications: This research demonstrated that political clientelism and manipulation was present in the Turkish sports system. The study also highlighted political influence as an obstacle to the democratic structure of sports federations.

Utilitarian and modern: clientelism, citizen empowerment, and civic engagement in the Arab world

In this article, we examine the patterns of civic engagement in non-democratic and democratizing polities of the Arab world. The theoretical argument incorporates two perspectives: modernization theory and utilitarianism. Specifically, we use wasta-seeking behaviour and indicators of human capital and citizen empowerment to explain the micro-level foundations of civic engagement. We build on the implications of these approaches to explain the civic gender gap and women's status in Arab societies. The results of a series of multivariate estimations using the first wave of the Arab Barometer Survey show that clientelistic behaviour along with higher levels of education and employment status explain citizens' involvement in various forms of civic activities. We argue that the former helps sustain traditional authoritarian structures and the latter may help democratization by strengthening civil society. We also detect a civic gender gap and find that citizen empowerment and modernization may narrow this gap in accordance with the democratic norms whereas utilitarian behaviour may generate a similar effect to indirectly undermine the status of women. These findings provide new insights about the complex interdependence of human development, clientelistic networks, women's status, and democratization in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

Football, clientelism and corruption in Argentina: an anthropological inquiry

Since the fall of the last military regime in 1983, Argentina has enjoyed a succession of democratic governments. While this created an atmosphere of optimism where progress became an attainable goal, there is also much uncertainty around many pressing social issues. In Argentina, the world of football serves as a microcosm where many of these issues can be observed. Among them we find clientelist networks that involve club officials, politicians, the police and groups of organized fans. In recent years, these networks have led to an increase in cases of violence and corruption tied to political and economic interests. The spread of violence in Argentine football is encouraged by social leaders through corrupt political and economic arrangements that benefit all parties involved. Within this particular context, and in spite of the role played by non-governmental organizations, viable solutions remain elusive.

The Welfare State in Egypt, 1995-2005: A Comparative Approach

This article applies the typology of welfare state regimes developed by Esping-Andersen in 1990 to the welfare state in Egypt as an example of developing countries. The study surveys the relations between the state, the market, and society from 1995 to 2005, a period characterized by a shift towards a market-oriented economy, challenging the historical legacy of the state’s social role. The methodology employs a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis while examining the characteristics of seven main welfare schemes and social safety nets in Egypt. The findings suggest that the Egyptian current welfare state can be best described as “conservative/informal,” where social benefits are tied to employment in the formal sector, leading to the family, religious institutions, and clientelistic networks taking on important roles to meet the social needs of the larger informal sector. In addition, the study proposes amendments to the Esping-Andersen typology in order to better understand the welfare programs of developing countries. Mismanagement, quality considerations, the gap between stated goals and implementation, disparities created by gender and urbanization differences, and the role of informal sector should be systematically considered when analyzing welfare regimes in general, and those of developing countries in particular.

Women Supporting Patients, Men Curing Cancer: Gender-Related Variations Among Israeli Arab Practitioners of Traditional Medicine in Their Treatment of Patients with Cancer

The use of complementary traditional medicine (CTM) is prevalent among patients with cancer. An understanding of cultural and religious values is needed to design an effective patient-centered supportive treatment program. To examine gender-related demographic and professional characteristics; treatment goals and approaches; and attitudes toward integration among Arab practitioners of CTM. Male and female Arab CTM practitioners treating patients with cancer were located by snowballing through practitioner and clientele networks. Participants underwent semi-structured, in-depth interviews which were analyzed thematically, with a focus on gender-related issues. A total of 27 Arab CTM practitioners participated in the study (17 males, 10 females). Female practitioners were found to be treating women exclusively, with male practitioners treating both genders. Female practitioners tend to be younger, unmarried, urban-based and non-Muslim. Male practitioners set out to "cure" the cancer, while female practitioners focus on symptoms and quality of life. Male practitioners employ a more schematic and structured therapeutic approach; female practitioners a more eclectic and practical one. Male practitioners employ a collectivist approach, involving family members, while female practitioners interact exclusively with the patient. Finally, male CTM practitioners see integration as a means for recognition, increasing their power base. In contrast, female practitioners perceive integration as a foothold in fields from which they have previously been shut out. A number of gender-related issues can have a significant impact on CTM therapy among Arab patients. Further research is needed in order to understand the implications of these differences.

South Sudan: Civil war, predation and the making of a military aristocracy

This article addresses the social and political implications of wartime and post-war resource capture in South Sudan. It argues that predation by armed groups during the second civil war (1983–2005) initiated a process of dominant class formation, and demonstrates how, through various strategies of resource capture and kinship networks, commanders from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and other factions formed a new aristocracy – a “dominant class” that thinks of itself as “the best”. Drawing on Marcel Mauss’s analysis of ‘gifts’, it describes how commanders, through gifts of bridewealth and wives to their subordinates, formed a lower stratum of followers that strengthened their position. After the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the military elite in power has maintained this lower stratum through the deployment of nepotistic and clientelist networks. The article discusses three modes through which the elite has sought to distinguish itself, showing how the elite has used the lower stratum to demonstrate its prestige and influence in the post-war period, and how the elite’s ostentation and widespread corruption have triggered popular resentment in which old ethnic enmities sometimes resurface. ON 15 DECEMBER 2013 THE GRAVEST POLITICAL CRISIS in the short history of the Republic of South Sudan erupted. Following a series of disagreements within the highest echelons of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, thirteen political figures were imprisoned, accused by President Salva Kiir of attempting a coup under the leadership of estranged Vice-President Riek Machar. Since then, Kiir – aided by the Ugandan army and supported by an increasingly embarrassed international community, as well as by the former northern Sudanese foe – has tried to

The Roman Inquisition. A Papal Bureaucracy and Its Laws in the Age of Galileo by Thomas F. Mayer (review)

Reviewed by: The Roman Inquisition. A Papal Bureaucracy and Its Laws in the Age of Galileo by Thomas F. Mayer Federico Barbierato The Roman Inquisition. A Papal Bureaucracy and Its Laws in the Age of Galileo. By Thomas F. Mayer. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 2013. Pp. vi, 385. $79.95. ISBN 978-0-8122-4473-1.) The opening of the Archives of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 1998 allowed historians to cast new light on the structure and functioning of the court of the Holy Office. Paths of research intersected, and the outcome was often prolific, creating an in-depth debate among scholars and a wider—but less accurate—public discussion. Many things have changed since then in historiographical terms, but with this book Thomas Mayer provides what is probably the most complete in-depth overview of the institutional and bureaucratic workings of the Roman Congregation. Mayer demonstrates a huge working knowledge of the literature in question, partly thanks to his past studies on Pietro Carnesecchi and in particular the trial against Galileo Galilei. However, he carves out his own niche by focusing more attention on procedures and the nature of the Roman Congregation than on peripheral activities. The author’s privileged source is the Decreta, a series of registers that record events and discussions in the legal and administrative fields, thereby providing an overview of an operation that was ramified and multifarious. In this way, supported by other sources, Mayer has been able to reconstruct the nature and careers of prelates and functionaries in the Congregation, examining their role and variations in Inquisition procedure. The registers in the Decreta also [End Page 154] played a role of primary importance in legal terms as they constituted the historical memory of the court and were referred to in controversial cases or simply to underline the legitimacy of a decision. After a summary of the structure of the reorganized Congregation in 1542 and a few timely observations on the ambiguity of the term Inquisition, Mayer demonstrates its close connection to the pope, who used the Holy Office as a sort of military branch against heresy and dissent. Indeed, although the bureaucratic department was extremely well structured, the pope remained at the head of the institution and even managed to confront attempts to question his leadership. The time span covered in the book ranges from the reorganization in the 1540s to the 1640s, with in-depth analysis of the years in which the Galileo trial took place. The latter is seen as both an especially illuminating moment in the redistribution of the balance of power within the Roman Curia and a time when the role of the cardinals was particularly evident. Some of these figures are outlined in great detail by adopting a prosopographic approach, highlighting their origins, cultural conformation, and clientelistic networks. The resulting picture is a world of cardinals with a theological or legal background, many of whom had previously been involved in curial politics. These leading figures were supported by what Mayer calls the “backbone” of the Congregation—namely the bureaucratic department, consisting of “commissaries, assessors, fiscals, notaries, and other (at first glance) more minor officials” (p. 7). It is this careful and detailed reconstruction that is perhaps the most innovative aspect of the book, which ends by also attempting to account for Inquisition procedures and their role in relation to criminal and civil law procedures at the time. In conclusion, this book is an essential point of reference for anyone who is serious about embarking on a study of the Roman Inquisition during its first century of existence, as it demonstrates its complexities, ongoing evolution, and close link to the power structures and clientelistic networks of the time. Federico Barbierato University of Verona Copyright © 2014 The Catholic University of America Press

Losing the connection: party-voter linkages in Pakistan

How do political parties in Pakistan aggregate votes and connect to voters, especially in rural areas? Most explanations for party-voter linkages in rural Pakistan can be grouped into four broad categories: (a) political parties are made up of powerful landlords who use economic power to collect votes from dependent voters; (b) parties are conglomerations of clientelist networks; (c) parties are large aggregations of kinship networks; and (d) parties function by building links with specific types of constituencies across large parts of the country, and voters forge links with political parties based on ideology and party identification. These are, at best, only partial explanations. How is it that they can all co-exist? The answer lies in the level of analysis employed. I argue that when viewed in aggregated form at a macro-level of analysis, such as that of national politics, these varied explanations of party-voter linkages appear to be distinct and sometimes mutually exclusive. However, when disaggregated and examined at a micro-level of analysis, that of village-level politics, it becomes obvious how it is possible for all of these linkages to not only co-exist but often even work together. I adopt this micro-level of analysis through a longitudinal study of one village in Pakistan's most populous and politically most important province, Punjab. Using the case study of Sahiwal, I argue that the reason for the varied explanations is that the link between political parties and their voters is rarely direct. Instead, it is mediated by different types of local actors. As the national political arena changes, different actors gain precedence, leading to multiple explanations of what is really going on in rural Pakistan between political parties and their voters.

ELITE STRATEGIES, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND SECTARIAN IDENTITIES IN POSTWAR LEBANON

AbstractThis article explains the endurance of sectarian identities and modes of political mobilization in Lebanon after the civil war. This is done by examining three case studies that demonstrate a recursive relation between sectarian elites and civil society actors: on one side of this relation, sectarian elites pursue their political and socioeconomic interests at the expense of civil society organizations (CSOs); on the other side, civil society actors instrumentalize the sectarian political system and its resources to advance their own organizational or personal advantage. These mutually reinforcing dynamics enable sectarian elites to penetrate, besiege, or co-opt CSOs as well as to extend their clientelist networks to CSOs that should otherwise lead the effort to establish cross-sectarian ties and modes of political mobilization or that expressly seek to challenge the sectarian system. The article fills a gap in the literature on sectarianism in postwar Lebanon and helps explain a puzzle identified by Ashutosh Varshney in the theoretical debate on ethnic conflict, namely the reasons behind the “stickiness” of historically constructed ethnic identities.

Organising the Hombre Nuevo Gay: LGBT Politics and the Second Sandinista Revolution

The LGBT or sexual diversity movement in Nicaragua, which was repressed by the FSLN in the 1980s, is currently supported by that party. I argue that this change in the FSLN's policy responds to shifting international frames regarding sexuality and human rights as well as to efforts to separate the LGBT movement from its allies in the feminist movement, and efforts to incorporate the LGBT movement into the FSLN's clientelistic networks. Despite real gains for LGBT activists as a result of these new policies, ultimately the FSLN has offered sexual diversity activists far more in the area of culture than rights.

Why Do Some Regions in Europe Have a Higher Quality of Government?

While most of the quantitative literature on quality of government has focused on national differences, subnational variation has been neglected, mainly due to the lack of data. This study explores subnational divergences in quality of government (understood as control of corruption, impartial treatment of citizens, and government effectiveness) using newly created subnational data including over 70 European regions. It addresses the institutional puzzle of why regions which share so many formal institutions (e.g., Northern and Southern Italy) do diverge so much in quality of government. Similar to recent political economy scholarship, our theory points to historical path dependencies. The study argues that a major factor explaining regional path dependencies is the consolidation of clientelistic networks in those regions where rulers have historically (seventeenth to nineteenth centuries) less constraints to their decisions.

Who Participates in Mexico's Program for Migrant Agricultural Workers? Explaining the Distribution of Sending Communities in Ahuacuotzingo, Guerrero

AbstractThis paper examines participation of residents from the Montaña Baja region of central Guerrero, Mexico, in the Mexican government's seasonal migrant laborer assistance program. The program has many functions, most notably serving as the hub linking migrant workers with agribusinesses elsewhere in Mexico. An archive of regional registrants for the 1999–2000 agricultural season is analyzed to infer patterns of local labor mobilization. We test the hypotheses that residents from larger communities and communities alongside roads are more likely to participate and we offer an explanation for their recruitment. Our explanations draw on understandings of patronage networks and the recruiting strategies of labor contractors. Our findings are significant and provide insight into the impact of clientelist networks on labor mobilization.

The Private Sector and Local Elites: The Experience of Public–Private Partnership in the Water Sector in Tripoli, Lebanon

As part of a reform of the water sector, the first attempt at public–private partnership (PPP) in Lebanon took place from 2003 to 2007 in the city of Tripoli. A subsidiary of the multinational company Suez-environnement was contracted to manage the drinking water service in the Tripoli Water Authority area. The objective of the contract was to improve domestic water supply services in Tripoli while modernizing the public administration, which, until then, was unable to ensure proper service. This contribution seeks to understand the interactions between the private firm and local elites during this time, in a context deeply marked by clientelism and cronyism. While the literature on delegated water management in developing countries often focuses on institutional aspects, this case study brings politics back into the analysis to understand how the introduction of a private actor affects clientelist networks.

The Impact of Electoral System Reform on Taiwan's Local Factions

In 2004, the single non-transferable vote (SNTV) was abolished in Taiwan. The SNTV had long been seen as a major factor in the sustenance of county- and township-level clientelist networks (“local factions”). It was also associated with phenomena such as extremism, candidate-centred politics, vote-buying, clientelism and organized crime involvement in politics. More recent scholarship, however, has led to doubts that a single formal institution like an electoral system could have such a powerful influence on electoral mobilization. This article puts these positions to an initial test. It examines the impact of the electoral reform on the mobilization capacity of a local faction in a rural county notorious for its factionalism. By illuminating its intricate mobilization structures, it provides support for the second position: These structures are too resilient to be affected by even a radical electoral reform.

Fortunas e infortúnios ultramarinos: alguns casos de enriquecimento e conflitos políticos de governadores na América portuguesa

Este artigo aborda o envolvimento de governadores da América portuguesa que vivenciaram conflitos de autoridade nas capitanias que governaram e de como estavam inseridos em redes clientelares ao longo dessas desavenças. Tendo por protagonista o 3º Conde de Assumar, dom Pedro Miguel de Almeida Portugal, comparamos sua trajetória a de outros governadores também acusados de enriquecimento e desmandos. Toda nossa análise privilegia o funcionamento das redes sociais e de como tais redes serviram para dar apoio ou ofereceram resistência aos governadores nomeados pela Coroa.

Leveraging Partnerships to Achieve High Impact: Lessons from Wildlife Field Days

Effective wildlife management on private lands can supplement and diversify income by providing opportunities for hunting, fishing, and ecotourism. We offered a workshop series that covered a comprehensive set of issues pertaining to this topic. In the process, we found that using a large, multi-state, multi-agency planning committee enabled us to tap into numerous clientele networks, reach many people new to Extension, recruit expert speakers from many organizations, and spread tasks so that individual burdens were reduced. This mutually beneficial collaboration is a model for future Extension programming that may become increasingly useful as Extension budgets continue to decline.