This study asks whether citizens in a target country perceive audience costs in a threatening challenger state and whether the challenger’s regime type (democracy vs. dictatorship) affects that perception. Using a pre-registered survey experiment conducted in the United States, the authors test whether audiences abroad recognize that a leader who would suffer domestic backlash for backing down can send a more credible threat.
Recent scholarship suggests that African presidents often target co-ethnics with patronage, especially in non-democratic contexts. This study proposes a connection between presidential ethnic identity change and shifts in citizens' self-identification. Using survey data from fourteen African countries during periods of presidential transitions, the research demonstrates that when there is an ethnic transition (i.e., changing to a different ethnic group), the proportion of respondents identifying with that new ruling ethnic group increases significantly.
This study investigates the impact of anti-corruption campaign messages on public perceptions using experimental methods.
Voters often conflate party identity with ideology, but this isn't always accurate.