[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/diedps/42022.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

What role do local elections play for societal peace in Nepal? Evidence from post-conflict Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Fiedler, Charlotte
  • Mross, Karina
  • Berg, Anna
  • Bhattarai, Prakash
  • Drees, Dorothea
  • Kornprobst, Tim
  • Leibbrandt, Alexandra
  • Liegmann, Philipp
  • Riebsamen, Maleen
Abstract
Can local elections introduced in a post-conflict context help to foster societal peace, or do they create new potential for conflict? The value of post-conflict elections has been the matter of controversial academic debates. However, this literature largely neglects to take into account the role of local elections. Based on the literature, we formulate three hypotheses on how local elections might impact societal peace, focussing on the periods before, during and after an election. The first focusses on the potential negative effects of identity-based mobilisation before an election, while the latter two lead us to expect positive effects - either through increased participation through the vote during an election, or improved responsiveness as a consequence after an election. We study each of these three mechanisms in Nepal, a country that experienced almost 10 years of civil war up until 2006 and where local elections were reintroduced in 2017. Combining 79 qualitative interviews at the national and local levels with insights from a large-n survey of 1,400 respondents, we find that overall the reintroduction of local elections had a clear positive impact on societal peace in Nepal. In particular, the results show that the elections increased participation and responsiveness, which has positively affected political trust and reduced (the potential for) political violence. Overall, this paper thereby contributes to the academic debate on the role of elections for peace, calling to attention the positive role local elections can play. It also demonstrates the benefits of moving beyond a narrow definition of peace in relatively stable post-conflict contexts to take a closer look at the effect of political institutions on societal dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiedler, Charlotte & Mross, Karina & Berg, Anna & Bhattarai, Prakash & Drees, Dorothea & Kornprobst, Tim & Leibbrandt, Alexandra & Liegmann, Philipp & Riebsamen, Maleen, 2022. "What role do local elections play for societal peace in Nepal? Evidence from post-conflict Nepal," IDOS Discussion Papers 4/2022, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:diedps:42022
    DOI: 10.23661/dp4.2022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/251738/1/1796291838.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.23661/dp4.2022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arthur Blouin & Sharun W. Mukand, 2019. "Erasing Ethnicity? Propaganda, Nation Building, and Identity in Rwanda," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(3), pages 1008-1062.
    2. Dominic Rohner & Mathias Thoenig & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2013. "Seeds of distrust: conflict in Uganda," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 217-252, September.
    3. Yang Yao & Nancy Qia & Monica Martinez Bravo & Gerard Padro i Miquel, 2011. "Do Local Elections in Non-Democracies Increase Accountability? Evidence from Rural China," Working Papers id:3931, eSocialSciences.
    4. Jean-Pierre Tranchant, 2008. "Fiscal Decentralisation, Institutional Quality and Ethnic Conflict: A Panel Data Analysis (1985-2001)," Post-Print hal-00354521, HAL.
    5. Lorenz Blume & Stefan Voigt, 2011. "Federalism and decentralization—a critical survey of frequently used indicators," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 238-264, September.
    6. Grävingholt, Jörn & von Haldenwang, Christian, 2016. "The promotion of decentralisation and local governance in fragile contexts," IDOS Discussion Papers 20/2016, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    7. Buhaug, Halvard & Cederman, Lars-Erik & Rød, Jan Ketil, 2008. "Disaggregating Ethno-Nationalist Civil Wars: A Dyadic Test of Exclusion Theory," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 62(3), pages 531-551, July.
    8. Keith Krause, 2009. "Beyond definition: violence in a global perspective," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 337-355, October.
    9. Besley, Timothy & Reynal-Querol, Marta, 2014. "The Legacy of Historical Conflict: Evidence from Africa," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 108(2), pages 319-336, May.
    10. Leininger, Julia & Burchi, Francesco & Fiedler, Charlotte & Mross, Karina & Nowack, Daniel & von Schiller, Armin & Sommer, Christoph & Strupat, Christoph & Ziaja, Sebastian, 2021. "Social cohesion: A new definition and a proposal for its measurement in Africa," IDOS Discussion Papers 31/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), revised 2021.
    11. Sam Whitt & Rick K. Wilson, 2007. "The Dictator Game, Fairness and Ethnicity in Postwar Bosnia," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(3), pages 655-668, July.
    12. Chemouni, Benjamin, 2018. "The political path to universal health coverage: Power, ideas and community-based health insurance in Rwanda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 87-98.
    13. Hager, Anselm & Krakowski, Krzysztof & Schaub, Max, 2019. "Ethnic Riots and Prosocial Behavior: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 113(4), pages 1029-1044.
    14. Pauline Grosjean, 2014. "Conflict and Social and Political Preferences: Evidence from World War II and Civil Conflict in 35 European Countries," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 56(3), pages 424-451, September.
    15. Quy-Toan Do & Lakshmi Iyer, 2010. "Geography, poverty and conflict in Nepal," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 47(6), pages 735-748, November.
    16. Grävingholt, Jörn & Mroß, Karina & Bendfeldt, Lennart & Blos, Yvonne & Fiedler, Charlotte & Mroß, Karina, 2013. "Struggling for stability: international support for peace and democracy in post-civil war Nepal," IDOS Discussion Papers 27/2013, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    17. Hanne Fjelde & Gudrun Østby, 2014. "Socioeconomic Inequality and Communal Conflict: A Disaggregated Analysis of Sub-Saharan Africa, 1990--2008," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(5), pages 737-762, October.
    18. Kushner, H.I. & Sterk, C.E., 2005. "The limits of social capital: Durkheim, suicide, and social cohesion," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(7), pages 1139-1143.
    19. Hager, Anselm & Krakowski, Krzysztof & Schaub, Max, 2019. "Ethnic Riots and Prosocial Behavior: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1029-1044, November.
    20. Arjan H. Schakel & Charlie Jeffery, 2013. "Are Regional Elections really ‘Second-Order’ Elections?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(3), pages 323-341, March.
    21. Furness, Mark & Trautner, Bernhard, 2020. "Reconstituting social contracts in conflict-affected MENA countries: Whither Iraq and Libya?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    22. Joseph Chan & Ho-Pong To & Elaine Chan, 2006. "Reconsidering Social Cohesion: Developing a Definition and Analytical Framework for Empirical Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 75(2), pages 273-302, January.
    23. Arnim Langer & Frances Stewart & Kristien Smedts & Leila Demarest, 2017. "Conceptualising and Measuring Social Cohesion in Africa: Towards a Perceptions-Based Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 321-343, March.
    24. Pui-Hang Wong, 2016. "How can political trust be built after civil wars? Evidence from post-conflict Sierra Leone," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 53(6), pages 772-785, November.
    25. Sofie Marien & Ruth Dassonneville & Marc Hooghe, 2015. "How Second Order Are Local Elections? Voting Motives and Party Preferences in Belgian Municipal Elections," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(6), pages 898-916, November.
    26. Khemani, Stuti, 2001. "Decentralization and accountability : are voters more vigilant in local than in national elections ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2557, The World Bank.
    27. Hetherington, Marc J., 1998. "The Political Relevance of Political Trust," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 92(4), pages 791-808, December.
    28. James D. Fearon & Macartan Humphreys & Jeremy M. Weinstein, 2009. "Can Development Aid Contribute to Social Cohesion after Civil War? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Post-conflict Liberia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 287-291, May.
    29. Peter J. Burnell, 2006. "The Coherence of Democratic Peace-Building," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-147, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    30. Fiedler, Charlotte & Rohles, Christopher, 2021. "Social cohesion after armed conflict: A literature review," IDOS Discussion Papers 7/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    31. Cecchi, Francesco & Duchoslav, Jan, 2018. "The effect of prenatal stress on cooperation: Evidence from violent conflict in Uganda," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 35-56.
    32. Soeren Keil, 2019. "Federalism as a tool of conflict resolution," Chapters, in: John Kincaid (ed.), A Research Agenda for Federalism Studies, chapter 12, pages 151-161, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    33. repec:cup:apsrev:v:113:y:2019:i:04:p:1029-1044_00 is not listed on IDEAS
    34. Elkins, Zachary & Sides, John, 2007. "Can Institutions Build Unity in Multiethnic States?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 101(4), pages 693-708, November.
    35. Berg Joyce & Dickhaut John & McCabe Kevin, 1995. "Trust, Reciprocity, and Social History," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 122-142, July.
    36. Clarke, Harold D. & Acock, Alan C., 1989. "National Elections and Political Attitudes: The Case of Political Efficacy," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(4), pages 551-562, October.
    37. David Schiefer & Jolanda Noll, 2017. "The Essentials of Social Cohesion: A Literature Review," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 579-603, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dominic Rohner, 2022. "Conflict, Civil Wars and Human Development," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 22.08, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    2. Ferguson, Neil T.N. & Leroch, Martin Alois, 2023. "On the behavioral impacts of violence: Evidence from incentivized games in Kenya," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Ollendorf, Franziska & Sieber, Stefan & Löhr, Katharina, 2023. "Societal dynamics of sustainability certification in Ghanaian cocoa producing communities: Assessing social cohesion effects and their implications for collective action," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(2), pages 212-238.
    4. Dominic Rohner & Mathias Thoenig & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2013. "Seeds of distrust: conflict in Uganda," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 217-252, September.
    5. Francesco Burchi & Markus Loewe & Daniele Malerba & Julia Leininger, 2022. "Disentangling the Relationship Between Social Protection and Social Cohesion: Introduction to the Special Issue," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1195-1215, June.
    6. Francesco Burchi & Federico Roscioli, 2022. "Can Integrated Social Protection Programmes Affect Social Cohesion? Mixed-Methods Evidence from Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1240-1263, June.
    7. Yabibal M. Walle, 2023. "Social Cohesion and Firms’ Access to Finance in Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 27-46, June.
    8. Strupat, Christoph, 2021. "The preserving effect of social protection on social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Kenya," IDOS Discussion Papers 33/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), revised 2021.
    9. Walle, Yabibal Mulualem, 2022. "Determinants of social cohesion: Cross-country evidence," IDOS Discussion Papers 18/2022, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    10. Tricia Qian Hui Tok & Orlando Woods & Lily Kong, 2024. "What is Beyond Measurement for Social Cohesion?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 109-127, October.
    11. Bujar Aruqaj, 2023. "An Integrated Approach to the Conceptualisation and Measurement of Social Cohesion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 227-263, August.
    12. Rohner, Dominic & Couttenier, Mathieu & Preotu, Veronica, 2016. "The Violent Legacy of Victimization: Post-Conflict Evidence on Asylum Seekers, Crimes and Public Policy in Switzerland," CEPR Discussion Papers 11079, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Travers Barclay Child & Elena Nikolova, 2017. "War and Social Attitudes," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 2017-5, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).
    14. Fiedler, Charlotte & Rohles, Christopher, 2021. "Social cohesion after armed conflict: A literature review," IDOS Discussion Papers 7/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    15. Hilger, Anne & Nordman, Christophe Jalil, 2020. "The Determinants of Trust: Evidence from Rural South India," IZA Discussion Papers 13150, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Conzo, Pierluigi & Salustri, Francesco, 2019. "A war is forever: The long-run effects of early exposure to World War II on trust," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    17. Alina Greiner & Maximilian Filsinger, 2022. "(Dis)Trust in the Aftermath of Sexual Violence: Evidence from Sri Lanka," HiCN Working Papers 377, Households in Conflict Network.
    18. Löhr, Katharina & Aruqaj, Bujar & Baumert, Daniel & Bonatti, Michelle & Brüntrup, Michael & Bunn, Christian & Castro-Nunez, Augusto & Chavez-Miguel, Giovanna & Del Rio, Martha Lilia & Hachmann, Samyra, 2021. "Social cohesion as the missing link between natural resource management and peacebuilding: Lessons from cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Colombia," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(23).
    19. German Orbegozo, 2021. "Consequences of violence against social leaders in Colombia," Documentos CEDE 19320, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    20. Christoph Strupat, 2022. "Social Protection and Social Cohesion in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1320-1357, June.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:diedps:42022. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ditubde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.