This paper investigates whether personality affects support for populist parties either directly ... more This paper investigates whether personality affects support for populist parties either directly or indirectly through “populist attitudes.” It theorizes that populist attitudes should be disambiguated into their component facets and that the attitudinal components of populism are best understood as loosely related characteristic adaptations, which mediate the relationship between personality and vote choice. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 2,200 Australians fielded prior to the general election in 2019, the paper demonstrates that the three attitudinal components of populism (People-centrism, Anti-elitism, and a Manichean outlook) are weakly associated with one another and distinctively connected with underlying personality traits. Our results indicate that populist attitudes are better conceptualized as a cluster of weakly related psychological tendencies rather than as a coherent worldview or personality. Mediation analysis indicates that personality traits affect support for populist parties both directly and indirectly through the attitudinal components of populism.
To what extent is populist rule associated with a decline in press freedom and freedom of express... more To what extent is populist rule associated with a decline in press freedom and freedom of expression? Populist rule refers to government headed by charismatic leaders who seek to gain and retain power by mobilizing mass constituencies that are typically free of other political attachments. Populism in this sense matters for two reasons: 1.) controlling the media is a core objective of populists compared to other types of political leaders, who can rely on other organizational links to supporters; 2.) the interests of populist parties are virtually equivalent to the interests of party leaders, which means that populist leaders face different time horizons and constraints on their behavior than the leaders of more deeply institutionalized parties. Using cross-national data on 88 countries from 1980-2014, this paper tests whether rule by populist rule is associated with the erosion of press freedom and freedom of expression relative to other types of government and whether any effect is conditional on the ideology of the populist government in question. It finds that populist rule is associated with a decline in most measures of media freedom relative to programmatic party rule. However, this effect is lessened for right-leaning populist governments.
Why do some ethnic groups vote along ethnic lines while others do not? In this paper, we theorize... more Why do some ethnic groups vote along ethnic lines while others do not? In this paper, we theorize that the level of ethnic voting depends, partially, on how ethnicity interacts with economic cleavages. Specifically, we argue that between-ethnic group inequality (BGI) increases ethnic voting and that its effect strengthens as within-ethnic group inequality (WGI) decreases. We thus posit that the full structure of ethnic inequality matters for ethnic voting, not only between-group differences. After presenting our argument, we conduct the first cross-national test of whether the effect of between group inequality on ethnic voting is conditional on the level of inequality within ethnic groups. Our analysis employs group-level data on 200 ethnic groups from 65 countries. We find strong support for our hypothesis: BGI increases ethnic voting, but its effect is conditional on WGI.
While populist rule has become increasingly prevalent in the developing world, much of our knowle... more While populist rule has become increasingly prevalent in the developing world, much of our knowledge about its implications remains anecdotal and contradictory. In this paper, we conduct the most comprehensive large-N cross-national test of the consequences of populist rule to date. Using data on 19 Latin American states, we find that populism's implications are mostly negative: (1) populist regimes tend to erode institutional and legal constraints on executive authority; (2) participation rates are not higher under populist governments or for populist campaigners; and (3) populist rule, even under left-wing populists, is not associated with more redistribution than non-populist democratic rule. We perform instrumental variable estimations and a quasi-experimental analysis to address the potential endogeneity of populism.
This paper posits that the varied legacies of colonial rule and decolonization can explain inters... more This paper posits that the varied legacies of colonial rule and decolonization can explain interstate variation in the institutionalization of corruption in post-independence India. It concludes that the relative freedom from state capture after independence depended on two conditions: 1.) the institutionalization of bureaucratic autonomy prior to independence; and 2.) the survival of the disruption of decolonization by an autonomous bureaucracy to be utilized by new representative governments following independence. These conditions were generally not met across India with the exception of the southern state of Kerala.
This article develops a two-part theory that accounts for both the origins and the persistence of... more This article develops a two-part theory that accounts for both the origins and the persistence of patronage politics. First, greater centrifugal and disintegrative pressures at key moments in the state-building process give local elites more opportunity to institutionalize patronage at the subnational level. Second, decentralized patronage systems are more resistant to reform than centralized ones. Case studies of India and Ceylon illustrate how variation in centrifugal pressures allowed subnational elites to capture the state in the former but not the latter. Further data from the British Empire shows that greater centrifugal pressures faced by British colonies at the time of decolonization are correlated with the persistence of higher levels of patronage over time.
Why insurgent organizations stay together over time and why they maintain the fight under stress ... more Why insurgent organizations stay together over time and why they maintain the fight under stress are questions of major concern for our understanding of war duration, conduct, and outcome. Structural integrity is the property of an organization remaining as a single intact entity, while cohesion refers to the creation and maintenance of cooperative effort toward the attainment of the organization’s goals. Although closely related, the conflation of structural integrity and cohesion is problematic. The body of the paper is a structured comparative analysis of two cases, the Irish Republican Army and the Karen National Union. First, this analysis demonstrates that cohesion and structural integrity are discrete concepts that each helps us to understand part of why, and how, insurgent organizations keep up the fight. Thus, despite much recent emphasis on “spoilers” in the conflict literature, understanding why armed organizations stay together or fragment is not enough. We also need to understand what makes insurgents perform effectively in the organization’s interest. Second, it points to some limitations of existing theories of structural integrity and cohesion in insurgent organizations and allows the author to conclude by suggesting some fruitful avenues for future research on these dynamics.
To what extent is populist party rule associated with a decline in press freedom and freedom of e... more To what extent is populist party rule associated with a decline in press freedom and freedom of expression? Is the effect due to something particular to populist parties per se or is it the result of political ideologies such as right-wing economic policy or ethnonationalism that these parties often hold? Populist parties are ones headed by personalistic leaders who seek to gain and retain power by establishing unmediated links with mass constituencies. Using a new cross-national dataset on the type of party rule in 100 countries from 1980-2014, this paper tests whether rule by populist government is associated with more restrictions on press freedom and freedom of expression relative to other types of party rule and whether any effect is conditional on the " host " ideology of the party in question. It finds that populist rule is associated with a decline in most measures of media freedom relative to programmatic party rule. This effect is present for both economically left and right leaning populist governments and for both nationalist and non-nationalist populist governments.
This paper investigates whether personality affects support for populist parties either directly ... more This paper investigates whether personality affects support for populist parties either directly or indirectly through “populist attitudes.” It theorizes that populist attitudes should be disambiguated into their component facets and that the attitudinal components of populism are best understood as loosely related characteristic adaptations, which mediate the relationship between personality and vote choice. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 2,200 Australians fielded prior to the general election in 2019, the paper demonstrates that the three attitudinal components of populism (People-centrism, Anti-elitism, and a Manichean outlook) are weakly associated with one another and distinctively connected with underlying personality traits. Our results indicate that populist attitudes are better conceptualized as a cluster of weakly related psychological tendencies rather than as a coherent worldview or personality. Mediation analysis indicates that personality traits affect support for populist parties both directly and indirectly through the attitudinal components of populism.
To what extent is populist rule associated with a decline in press freedom and freedom of express... more To what extent is populist rule associated with a decline in press freedom and freedom of expression? Populist rule refers to government headed by charismatic leaders who seek to gain and retain power by mobilizing mass constituencies that are typically free of other political attachments. Populism in this sense matters for two reasons: 1.) controlling the media is a core objective of populists compared to other types of political leaders, who can rely on other organizational links to supporters; 2.) the interests of populist parties are virtually equivalent to the interests of party leaders, which means that populist leaders face different time horizons and constraints on their behavior than the leaders of more deeply institutionalized parties. Using cross-national data on 88 countries from 1980-2014, this paper tests whether rule by populist rule is associated with the erosion of press freedom and freedom of expression relative to other types of government and whether any effect is conditional on the ideology of the populist government in question. It finds that populist rule is associated with a decline in most measures of media freedom relative to programmatic party rule. However, this effect is lessened for right-leaning populist governments.
Why do some ethnic groups vote along ethnic lines while others do not? In this paper, we theorize... more Why do some ethnic groups vote along ethnic lines while others do not? In this paper, we theorize that the level of ethnic voting depends, partially, on how ethnicity interacts with economic cleavages. Specifically, we argue that between-ethnic group inequality (BGI) increases ethnic voting and that its effect strengthens as within-ethnic group inequality (WGI) decreases. We thus posit that the full structure of ethnic inequality matters for ethnic voting, not only between-group differences. After presenting our argument, we conduct the first cross-national test of whether the effect of between group inequality on ethnic voting is conditional on the level of inequality within ethnic groups. Our analysis employs group-level data on 200 ethnic groups from 65 countries. We find strong support for our hypothesis: BGI increases ethnic voting, but its effect is conditional on WGI.
While populist rule has become increasingly prevalent in the developing world, much of our knowle... more While populist rule has become increasingly prevalent in the developing world, much of our knowledge about its implications remains anecdotal and contradictory. In this paper, we conduct the most comprehensive large-N cross-national test of the consequences of populist rule to date. Using data on 19 Latin American states, we find that populism's implications are mostly negative: (1) populist regimes tend to erode institutional and legal constraints on executive authority; (2) participation rates are not higher under populist governments or for populist campaigners; and (3) populist rule, even under left-wing populists, is not associated with more redistribution than non-populist democratic rule. We perform instrumental variable estimations and a quasi-experimental analysis to address the potential endogeneity of populism.
This paper posits that the varied legacies of colonial rule and decolonization can explain inters... more This paper posits that the varied legacies of colonial rule and decolonization can explain interstate variation in the institutionalization of corruption in post-independence India. It concludes that the relative freedom from state capture after independence depended on two conditions: 1.) the institutionalization of bureaucratic autonomy prior to independence; and 2.) the survival of the disruption of decolonization by an autonomous bureaucracy to be utilized by new representative governments following independence. These conditions were generally not met across India with the exception of the southern state of Kerala.
This article develops a two-part theory that accounts for both the origins and the persistence of... more This article develops a two-part theory that accounts for both the origins and the persistence of patronage politics. First, greater centrifugal and disintegrative pressures at key moments in the state-building process give local elites more opportunity to institutionalize patronage at the subnational level. Second, decentralized patronage systems are more resistant to reform than centralized ones. Case studies of India and Ceylon illustrate how variation in centrifugal pressures allowed subnational elites to capture the state in the former but not the latter. Further data from the British Empire shows that greater centrifugal pressures faced by British colonies at the time of decolonization are correlated with the persistence of higher levels of patronage over time.
Why insurgent organizations stay together over time and why they maintain the fight under stress ... more Why insurgent organizations stay together over time and why they maintain the fight under stress are questions of major concern for our understanding of war duration, conduct, and outcome. Structural integrity is the property of an organization remaining as a single intact entity, while cohesion refers to the creation and maintenance of cooperative effort toward the attainment of the organization’s goals. Although closely related, the conflation of structural integrity and cohesion is problematic. The body of the paper is a structured comparative analysis of two cases, the Irish Republican Army and the Karen National Union. First, this analysis demonstrates that cohesion and structural integrity are discrete concepts that each helps us to understand part of why, and how, insurgent organizations keep up the fight. Thus, despite much recent emphasis on “spoilers” in the conflict literature, understanding why armed organizations stay together or fragment is not enough. We also need to understand what makes insurgents perform effectively in the organization’s interest. Second, it points to some limitations of existing theories of structural integrity and cohesion in insurgent organizations and allows the author to conclude by suggesting some fruitful avenues for future research on these dynamics.
To what extent is populist party rule associated with a decline in press freedom and freedom of e... more To what extent is populist party rule associated with a decline in press freedom and freedom of expression? Is the effect due to something particular to populist parties per se or is it the result of political ideologies such as right-wing economic policy or ethnonationalism that these parties often hold? Populist parties are ones headed by personalistic leaders who seek to gain and retain power by establishing unmediated links with mass constituencies. Using a new cross-national dataset on the type of party rule in 100 countries from 1980-2014, this paper tests whether rule by populist government is associated with more restrictions on press freedom and freedom of expression relative to other types of party rule and whether any effect is conditional on the " host " ideology of the party in question. It finds that populist rule is associated with a decline in most measures of media freedom relative to programmatic party rule. This effect is present for both economically left and right leaning populist governments and for both nationalist and non-nationalist populist governments.
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