Autocratic Voter - Partisanship and Political Socialization Under Dictatorship

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.

List of contents

1. Partisanship in electoral autocracies; 2. Social networks, political geography, and partisan socialization; 3. The case of Cameroon; 4. Opposition and ruling party partisanship as social identities; 5. Pathways to partisanship; 6. Political influence within networks; 7. Processes of political socialization; 8. The political geography of electoral autocracies; 9. Political realities in party strongholds; 10. The power and importance of partisan identities; Appendix 1. Full sampling schedule of public opinion survey; Appendix 2. Life histories of Henri, Titus, Patience and Justo; Bibliography.

About the author

Natalie Wenzell Letsa is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina. Her work has been published at the American Political Science Review, Perspectives on Politics, and the Journal of Modern African Studies, among other journals.

Product details

• Authors: Natalie Wenzell Letsa, Natalie Wenzell (University of Oklahoma) Letsa, Natalie Wenzell (University of South Caroli Letsa
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.08.2025
• EAN: 9781009639873
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0963987-3
• No. of pages: 278
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; POLITICAL SCIENCE / General, Africa, c 1500 onwards to present day, Social media / social networking, Comparative Politics, Politics and government, Far-right political ideologies and movements, Political ideologies and movements, For undergraduate education and equivalents, For graduate / post-graduate and equivalents