Electoral Malpractices around the World

Turchenko M.S.,

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, European University at St. Petersburg, mturchenko@eu.spb.ru

elibrary_id: 821906 | ORCID: 0000-0001-8535-5473 | RESEARCHER_ID: A-8499-2016

DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2020.05.14

Rubric: Reflecting on Matters in Print

For citation:

Turchenko M.S. Electoral Malpractices around the World. – Polis. Political Studies. 2020. No. 5. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2020.05.14

Abstract

The review discusses a book written by Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas “How to Rig an Election” (New Haven, London: Yale University Press, 2019). Based on field research, conducted by authors themselves in countries across sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and secondary sources they demonstrate the variety of manipulative tools at the disposal of authoritarian incumbents. Besides describing the authoritarian toolbox, authors pay attention to the ways of strengthening electoral integrity both in authoritarian and democratic regimes. “How to Rig an Election” neither puts forward nor tests empirically any research hypotheses. At the same time, the book proposes some new research questions for the further studying. What factors influence the incumbents’ choice of given manipulative tools during an election? Whether disinformation in social media and fake news affect voters’ electoral behavior? The book, aimed primarily at a wide audience, will be useful to anyone interested in authoritarian elections, the politics of electoral malpractice and electoral integrity. For those who are deeply familiar with the literature on comparative authoritarianism, the content of the book will be uninformative.

Keywords

elections, authoritarianism, electoral malpractices, authoritarian incumbents, political violence, disinformation, electronic voting.

Full Text

References

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Content No. 5, 2020