Playing With Fire - Parties and Political Violence in Kenya and India

Drawing on a rare cross-regional comparison of Kenya and India, Playing with Fire develops a novel explanation about ethnic party violence. Combining rich historical, qualitative, and quantitative data, the book demonstrates how levels of party instability can crucially inform the decisions of political elites to organize or support violence. Centrally, it shows that settings marked by unstable parties are more vulnerable to experiencing recurring and major episodes of party violence than those populated by durable parties. This is because transient parties enable politicians to disregard voters' future negative reactions to conflict. By contrast, stable party organizations compel politicians to take such costs into account, thereby dampening the potential for recurring and severe party violence. By centering political parties as key actors in the production of conflict, and bringing together evidence from both Africa and South Asia, Playing with Fire contributes new insights to the study of political violence.

Product details

• Authors: Aditi Malik, Aditi (College of the Holy Cross Malik
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.06.2024
• EAN: 9781009444248
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0944424-8
• No. of pages: 300
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Political Parties, Political Ideologies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Parties, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Advocacy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Comparative Politics, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / African, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Asian, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Corruption & Misconduct, International Relations, India, Kenya, Political activism, Political corruption, Comparative Politics, Political ideologies and movements, Political parties and party platforms, Corruption in politics, government and society, Political activism / Political engagement