Political parties are integral to democracy and yet they frequently engage in anti-democratic, violent behaviour. Parties can employ violence directly, outsource violence to gangs and militias, or form electoral alliances with non-state armed actors. When do parties engage in, or facilitate, violence? What determines the strategies of violence that they employ? Drawing on data from Pakistan, Under the Gun argues that party violence is not a simple manifestation of weak state capacity but instead the intentional product of political incentives, further complicating the process of democratization. Using a rigorous multi-method approach based on over a hundred interviews and numerous surveys, the book demonstrates that a party's violence strategy depends on the incentives it faces in the subnational political landscape in which it operates, the cost it incurs from its voters for violent acts, and its organizational capacity for violence.

Winner, 2022 Leon Epstein Award-political Parties, American Political Science Association

Winner, 2024 Robert A. Dahl Award, American Political Science Association

‘Niloufer Siddiqui has written a fantastic book that deserves wide readership. She offers novel theory and an impressive array of evidence to explore when and how political parties deploy violence. Siddiqui blends important insights about state capacity, political polarization, and the organizational structure of parties with wide-ranging fieldwork and quantitative data from Pakistan. This is a deeply informed book that contributes to our understanding of both Pakistan specifically and the relationship between democracy and violence broadly.’

Paul Staniland - The University of Chicago

‘Under the Gun is an exceptional book. With great creativity and sophistication, Niloufer Siddiqui advances a novel argument about why and how political parties engage in violence. She persuasively supports her claims by deftly weaving together different kinds of evidence. Along the way, the book showcases an intimate understanding of Pakistan’s politics. Under the Gun is readable yet erudite and makes an invaluable contribution to the study of political violence.’

Adam Ziegfeld - Temple University

‘The book breaks important new ground in the literature on political parties and political violence, adding to studies on Pakistan that have, for too long, neglected the incentives of political party actors as key determinants of outcomes.’

Fahd Humayan Source: International Affairs