The Credibility Challenge

Inken von Borzyskowski

ISBN 10: 150173654X / ISBN 13: 9781501736544

Published by Cornell University Press, US, 2019

About this Item

The key to the impact of international election support is credibility; credible elections are less likely to turn violent. So argues Inken von Borzyskowski in The Credibility Challenge, in which she provides an explanation of why and when election support can increase or reduce violence. Von Borzyskowski answers four major questions: Under what circumstances can election support influence election violence? How can election support shape the incentives of domestic actors to engage in or abstain from violence? Does support help reduce violence or increase it? And, which type of support-observation or technical assistance-is better in each instance? The Credibility Challenge pulls broad quantitative evidence and qualitative observations from Guyana, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh to respond to these questions. Von Borzyskowski finds that international democracy aid matters for election credibility and violence; outside observers can exacerbate postelection violence if they cast doubt on election credibility; and technical assistance helps build electoral institutions, improves election credibility, and reduces violence. Her results advance research and policy on peacebuilding and democracy promotion in new and surprising ways.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781501736544

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Credibility Challenge
• Publisher: Cornell University Press, US
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 150173654X
• ISBN 13: 9781501736544
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 28 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The key to the impact of international election support is credibility; credible elections are less likely to turn violent. So argues Inken von Borzyskowski in The Credibility Challenge, in which she provides an explanation of why and when election support can increase or reduce violence.

Von Borzyskowski answers four major questions: Under what circumstances can election support influence election violence? How can election support shape the incentives of domestic actors to engage in or abstain from violence? Does support help reduce violence or increase it? And, which type of support―observation or technical assistance―is better in each instance? The Credibility Challenge pulls broad quantitative evidence and qualitative observations from Guyana, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh to respond to these questions. Von Borzyskowski finds that international democracy aid matters for election credibility and violence; outside observers can exacerbate postelection violence if they cast doubt on election credibility; and technical assistance helps build electoral institutions, improves election credibility, and reduces violence. Her results advance research and policy on peacebuilding and democracy promotion in new and surprising ways.

About the Author

Inken von Borzyskowski is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Florida State University. Her research has appeared in International Studies Quarterly, British Journal of Political Science, and Review of International Organizations.