DFG-Project „The Demand Side of Clientelism"

DFG-Project „The Demand Side of Clientelism

When and why do citizens choose to engage in clientelistic relations?

Until recently, political science literature on clientelism has paid little attention to this question and conceptualized poor citizens as willing vote sellers. In contrast, ethnographic literature on the topic highlights the agency of (potential) clients and the varying views they have on these exchanges. 

Our project systematically studies the demand side of clientelism and seeks to understand the trade-offs of and welfare implications for citizens when engaging in clientelism. We consider a variety of clientelistic practices in rural and urban environments, including vote-buying, relational, and collective forms of clientelism. We conduct focus groups and survey experiments in rural and urban settings in Tunisia and South Africa to learn more about local practices as well as the perceptions and attitudes of the clients.

Our surveys use experimental methods in order to identify causal mechanisms and address potential social desirability biases.

The project is directed by Miquel Pellicer (UDE) and Eva Wegner (University College Dublin) and financed by the DFG.

Project News & Events

  • 22 December 2018
    PAP on “Citizen Evaluations of Patrons and Clients in Different Forms of Clientelism" registered with EGAP.
     
  • 21 December 2018 
    PAP on “The price of respect: The role of status and belonging in clients’ evaluations of clientelism" registered with EGAP.
     
  • 13-14 October 2018
    Eva Wegner and Miquel Pellicer present papers on the citizen perspective on clientelism at the PSAI Annual conference in Limerick.
     
  • 30 August – 2 September 2018
    Miquel Pellicer chairs our panel on “Citizen Perspectives on Clientelism” and presents paper on “The Clients’ View on Clientelism: Evidence from focus groups in Tunisia and South Africa” at the APSA Annual meeting 2018 in Boston
     
  • 22-25 August 2018
    Eva Wegner presents paper on “The Clients’ View on Clientelism: Evidence from focus groups in Tunisia and South Africa” at the ECPR Annual Conference 2018 in Hamburg
     
  • 25-26 June 2018
    International Workshop on the “The Demand Side of Clientelism: Agency, Trade-Offs, and Welfare Implications” at UDE. Here is the program and a report with the findings.
     
  • 21-23 June 2018
    Miquel Pellicer presents paper on “The Clients’ View on Clientelism: Evidence from focus groups in Tunisia and South Africa at the EPSA Annual Conference 2018 in Vienna.
     
  • 10-14 of April 2018
    Miquel Pellicer presents paper on “Clientelism from the Client`s Perspective: A Framework Based on a Systematic Review of Ethnographic” Literature in workshop on “Political Clientelism in the 21st Century: Theory and Practice” at the ECPR Joint Sessions 2018 in Nicosia