Published in:ASU Center for the Study of Economic Liberty Research Paper ; No. 18-5
Extent:
1 Online-Ressource (52 p)
Language:
English
DOI:
10.2139/ssrn.3054750
Identifier:
Origination:
Footnote:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments January 29, 2019 erstellt
Description:
Rapid urbanization is transforming the developing world, but the political consequences of this transformation are not well understood. In this paper, we argue that political contention and mobilization in the urban environment differs from other forms of political activity in its scale, speed, salience and scope. We present an expanded dataset on social disturbances in 102 cities from 1960-2014, showing that rates of disorder continue to increase. In contrast to established accounts of elections stabilizing authoritarian regimes, we argue that they are significantly correlated with distinct urban mobilization processes by organized and unorganized groups. Organized groups mobilize before elections to influence their results, and respond to institutional incentives to mobilize. Unorganized groups react spontaneously in the aftermath of elections to contest their results. Our findings suggest that urban social disorder promises to be a significant feature of politics in the developing world in coming decades