Everyday Choices by Ellen Lust

"Arenas of authority outside the state, and social institutions within them, affect the development of administrative boundaries as well. Administrative boundaries are often drawn along tribal or sectarian lines, as a response to demands from social groups. When this fails to be the case, they are often the subject of contestation.

Reference Granovetter Grossman and Lewis (2014) find this in Uganda. They argue that ethnic groups in outlying areas of their district seek territorial secession when they are of a different group than the majority of those in the district centre. This is because these groups perceive themselves to be disadvantaged by the district centre and thus demand a district to gain greater spoils. Importantly, however, the disadvantage comes not from the logic of the state system but rather because resources are demanded and believed to flow along ethnic lines. That is, the ethnic arenas, and social institutions regarding responsiveness to in-group members, drive resource distribution and, hence, the demand for new districts."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

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"Electoral rules are conventionally viewed as political institutions that influence engagement and representation. They are the outcomes of negotiations in which political actors are centre stage. Taking this approach, for instance, Boix (1999) argues that the relative size of political parties determines whether elites establish PR or majoritarian rules. Scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize that other forces play a role. Some note that electoral rules may not work as expected because context (e.g., social divisions and norms, weak rule of law and media systems, and electoral fraud and intimidation) mediates outcomes (Reference Ferree, Powell and Scheiner Ferree et al., 2013; Reference Ferree, Powell and Scheiner 2014; Reference Krook and Moser Krook and Moser, 2013), while others consider how electoral institutions activate fault lines, determining which identities are salient (Reference Chandra Chandra, 2007; Reference Michael Albertus and Slater Posner, 2005). These approaches are insightful but not fully sufficient. They explore how elites’ negotiation of electoral rules shape elections but fall short of comprehending how the same considerations impact other arenas of authority. A more complete understanding is essential as academic perspectives influence praxis; political scientists not only study electoral rules, they also engineer them (Reference Carey, Hix, Htun, Mozaffar, Powell and Reynolds Carey et al., 2013; Reference Htun and Powell Htun and Powell, 2013)."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

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"A perspective that overlooks competing arenas of authority and associated social institutions not only fails to understand how these forces affect politics and development, but also to make sense of state institutions. Electoral engagement, contributions to community development projects, and public service provision have multiple meanings. They are not only opportunities to choose lawmakers, fill coffers, or provide services, but also to uphold obligations as members of ethnic, religious, geographic, or other arenas of authority. In negotiating over institutions associated with the state, elites are often also negotiating over institutions that will shape individuals’ incentives and actions pertaining to social institutions in arenas of authority outside of the state. These insitutions affect the the extent to which social obligations are upheld and may strengthen, maintain, or undermine elites’ authority within those arenas. Consequently, arenas of authority and social institutions not only influence how individuals navigate established institutions, but also shape preferences over, and therefore the designs of, state institutions."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

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"To illustrate the insights from bringing arenas of authority and social institutions into analyses of politics and development, I return to the issue of state land titling. Recall from Section 3 that less than one-third of the global population had state-backed property titles in 2017, despite strong efforts to institute state land titles. Considering how assumptions underlying land titling do, or do not, comport with the lived experiences of land users thus sheds light on the barriers to titling and encourages thinking about alternative ways to enhance land security."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

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"The final set of rules regard the roles individuals hold. In this section, I focus on rules governing leadership selection and tenure. These influence the extent to which leaders have influence over other community members, and the ability of community members to hold leaders accountable. Leadership selection rules determine who is eligible to rule and who has a voice in choosing the leader, what Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and his colleagues called the ‘selectorate’ (Reference Bueno de Mesquita, Smith, Siverson and Morrow Bueno de Mesquita et al., 2003). These determine the level of competition, ranging from highly competitive contexts, where many are eligible for leadership and the selectorate is large, to less competetive environments, in which the number of contenders is small and the selectorate limited"

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

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"A second set of rules revolve around engagement: who is expected to act, how, and with regard to what? Here, I focus on the distinction between rules of engagement based in individualism and those centred on collectivism, a distinction that Reference Michael Albertus and Slater Harry Triandis (2001, p. 907) has called the single-most important cultural distinction. This distinction has significant implications for the likelihood that individuals contribute to public goods or participate in political action, and, consequently, welfare and development outcomes."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

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"As discussed in Section 3, arenas may have more or less porous borders, making it easier or more difficult for individuals to enter or exit the community. Boundary maintenance rules also establish how an individual should act in order to demonstrate allegiance to the community. This can be over appearance – the side curls of Hasidic Jewish men, the distinctive blue dresses and white bonnets of Amish women – or over actions, such a prohibitions against publicly airing views that oppose the group’s tenets. Rules governing group membership and boundary maintenance not only help to establish and signify membership in the group, but also influence a wide range of engagement and outcomes, from electoral competition and representation to citizenship and policymaking."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"In this section, I turn to social institutions. As seen in Section 4, individuals’ choices are influenced not only by the strength of competing arenas but also the nature of their institutions. The details of these institutions vary. Some prohibit engagement in ‘earthly elections’, denounce vaccinations, breastfeeding, or other practices often promoted by public health agencies, or require members to attend gender-segregated schools; others demand just the opposite. These have important implications for behaviour and outcomes, and scholars and practitioners should take them into account in research and development programming. Yet, such disparate rules also require an analytical structure for scholars and practitioners to make sense of them. Consequently, I build the framework around how different types of rules affect individuals’ behaviour. I argue that rules governing group membership and boundaries, engagement, and roles are the basis for a tri-fold framework for constructing hypotheses and guiding future research, and I propose hypotheses for future consideration."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

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"Before turning to social institutions in greater detail, I want to illustrate the points set forth thus far by examining electoral participation in Jordan. The case demonstrates variation in the strength of arenas of authority based on kinship, religion, and state, and shows how differences in these arenas and individuals’ reliance shape the influence of different arenas over their electoral behavior. Moreover, the case illustrates how subnational variation in the strength of these arenas affects electoral participation – in particular, why Jordanians living in rural areas have been much more likely to vote than those living in the capitol city, Amman."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

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"The discussion so far has focused on the factors that strengthen arenas, at times leading one to dominate another. In reality, however, people are members of numerous arenas, some of which may dictate the same action when choices are set before them. Where this is the case, individuals may behave in accordance with social institutions of multiple arenas, none of which is – by itself – the strongest. Thus, what matters in determining how arenas come together to shape an individual’s choice is how social institutions within these arenas overlap, not how membership does."

Full Chapter via Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/everyday-choices/41C482AE689FE13A4A4A4EFA480032D3

This audiobook is produced by Mediateknik at the University of Gothenburg.

© Lust, E. (2022). Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Elements in the Politics of Development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009306164 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.