The Autocratic Voter : Partisanship and Political Socialization under Dictatorship

Provides students of authoritarian politics and African studies insight into the political lives of ordinary citizens. Uses a mixed-methods approach and original data to understand why people get involved in politics, how and why they persuade others to join them, and what impact this has on politics in autocratic regimes.

In The Autocratic Voter, Natalie Wenzell Letsa explores the motivations behind why citizens in electoral autocracies choose to participate in politics and support political parties. With electoral autocracies becoming the most common type of regime in the modern world, Letsa challenges the dominant materialist framework for understanding political behavior and presents an alternative view of partisanship as a social identity. Her book argues that despite the irrationality and obstacles to participating in autocratic politics, people are socialized into becoming partisans by their partisan friends and family. This socialization process has a cascading effect that can either facilitate support for regime change and democracy or sustain the status quo. By delving into the social identity of partisanship, The Autocratic Voter offers a new perspective on political behavior in electoral autocracies that has the potential to shape the future of these regimes.