| ID | 171219 |
| Title Proper | Buying them off or scaring them straight |
| Other Title Information | explaining warlord democrats electoral rhetoric |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Sjostedt, Roxanna ; Themner, Anders |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Post–civil war democracies are characterized by intense electoral competition. To ensure continued political relevance, ex-military-turned-politicians, or “warlord democrats” (WDs), can either engage in a rhetoric of fear or ease societal tensions by employing a rhetoric of peace. WDs’ choice of rhetoric can have a profound impact on durable peace by altering societal discourses concerning the legitimacy of using violence. A key question is therefore: Why do some WDs employ a rhetoric of fear, and others a rhetoric of peace, when running for office? We argue that the choice of rhetoric is a function of the patrimonial endowments WDs possess; if WDs lack the resources and social networks needed to distribute patronage, they may instead use a rhetoric of fear to rally voters. To highlight the explanatory value of this proposition, we compare two Liberian WDs who ran for the Senate in 2005—Adolphus Dolo and Prince Johnson. |
| `In' analytical Note | Security Studies Vol. 29, No.1; Jan-Mar 2020: p.1-33 |
| Journal Source | Security Studies Vol: 29 No 1 |
| Key Words | Electoral competition ; Political Relevance ; Electoral Rhetoric ; Warlord Democrats |