Defying Electoral Governance: Distrust and Protests in Latin America
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26851/RUCP.33.20Keywords:
protests, electoral governance, political parties, election management, ElectionsAbstract
When do political parties reject electoral results? Even decades after the democratic transition, post-electoral conflicts and protests are still common in many Latin American countries. This article argues that trust in electoral management can predict political competitorsʼ choices between two alternative strategies: defiance or compliance. The present work uses a medium-N research design and a multilevel model to analyze elections in 18 Latin American countries since redemocratization and finds support for the argument that ceteris paribus, distrust in the fairness of elections predicts the defiant reactions of political competitors.
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