Susan C Stokes Knihy

Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism addresses major questions in distributive politics. Why is it acceptable for parties to try to win elections by promising to make certain groups of people better off, but unacceptable - and illegal - to pay people for their votes? Why do parties often lavish benefits on loyal voters, whose support they can count on anyway, rather than on responsive swing voters? Why is vote buying and machine politics common in today's developing democracies but a thing of the past in most of today's advanced democracies? This book develops a theory of broker-mediated distribution to answer these questions, testing the theory with research from four developing democracies, and reviews a rich secondary literature on countries in all world regions. The authors deploy normative theory to evaluate whether clientelism, pork-barrel politics, and other non-programmatic distributive strategies can be justified on the grounds that they promote efficiency, redistribution, or voter participation.

The year is 1919 and the seven members of the Watkins family are finally enjoying a summer of peace, but everything is about to change. Plunged in to poverty by two unexpected events the family are forced to leave their village in Lancashire and head to London in search of work. On arrival in London with little funds and nowhere to go, they meet by chance the famous and charismatic society photographer, Patrick Lawrence. He offers them accommodation and employment, but is he everything they think him to be. Before long unimaginable secrets are exposed, putting the family at odds with one another and causing almost irreparable damage.

Why Bother? offers and tests a new theory about participation in politics and, in particular, why people vote and join protests. This book will appeal to students and scholars in political science, sociology, and social psychology and to members of the public who want to understand trends in political participation.