Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Effects of Climatic Volatility on Economic Conditions and Voter Behavior in Africa

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This project investigates two pressing questions in the study of democracy and political stability in Africa: do Africans vote based upon their economic well-being, and how do economic effects induced by climatic volatility affect behavior? While climate-induced conflict, protest, and migration have been studied, no research has yet investigated the possible effects of climatic conditions on democratic practices. The research addresses questions of importance to policy-makers and foreign policy specialists: Will economic shocks associated with extreme weather events affect electoral politics, and how might these shocks alter African democracies?Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit of the project is associated with its connection of theories of economic voting to underlying climatic causes of economic conditions. Because populations in sub-Saharan Africa rely upon subsistence agriculture for their economic well-being, shocks to the foundation of economic activity could influence decisions at the polls. To address the question of economic voting, abnormal weather is used as a proxy for economic shocks to uncover whether shocks to economic conditions alter voter behavior. These dynamics are linked to the second question given current projections for increasing weather volatility across the sub-continent. Understanding voters' responses to weather variation will help provide insight into possible future dynamics. Empirically, the project will construct a novel, sub-national electoral database containing past district-level electoral results and turnout data from sub-Saharan nations. This database will be coupled with spatial data on administrative boundaries to include district-level temperature and rainfall abnormalities. Where available, fiscal data will be included to capture government responsiveness to poor economic conditions. Broader Impacts: Climate affects physical and social systems, and volatility in climatic conditions may dramatically alter these systems. The project seeks to examine the possible effects such change may have on democratic behavior in a region of the world often lacking democratic stability and most susceptible to the harsh realities of volatile climate patterns. A rigorous, theoretically informed understanding of the mechanisms through which resource scarcity can alter electoral outcomes and affect political volatility will help aid donors and policy-makers better target their resources and policies towards more efficient humanitarian goals. Moreover, if Africans vote heavily based on economic well-being, extreme weather conditions that disrupt sources of jobs and income could influence the course of democratic development. These findings will be of critical importance to democracy promotion practitioners.