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Buying Brokers

Electoral Handouts beyond Clientelism in a Weak-Party State

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2022

Allen Hicken ,
Edward Aspinall ,
Meredith L. Weiss  and
Burhanuddin Muhtadi
Allen Hicken*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Edward Aspinall
Affiliation:
Department of Political and Social Change, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Meredith L. Weiss
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA
Burhanuddin Muhtadi
Affiliation:
Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta, Indonesia
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: ahicken@umich.edu
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Abstract

Studies of electoral clientelism—the contingent exchange of material benefits for electoral support—frequently presume the presence of strong parties. Parties facilitate monitoring and enforcement of vote buying and allow brokers to identify core voters for turnout buying. Where money fuels campaigns but elections center around candidates, not parties, how do candidates pitch electoral handouts? The authors analyze candidates’ distribution of cash during an Indonesian election. Drawing upon varied data, including surveys of voters and brokers, candidates’ cash-distribution lists, and focus-group discussions, they find heavy spending but little evidence of vote buying or turnout buying. Instead, candidates buy brokers. With little loyalty or party brand to draw on, candidates seek to establish credibility with well-networked brokers, who then protect their turf with token payments for their own presumed bloc of voters. The authors find little evidence of monitoring of either voter or broker behavior, which is consistent with their argument that these payments are noncontingent.

Keywords

brokersclientelismelectionsIndonesiamoney politicspatronagevote buying
Type
Research Article
Information
World Politics , Volume 74 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 77 - 120
Copyright
Copyright © 2022 Trustees of Princeton University

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