How do parties compete in hybrid regimes: Programmes, clientelism or the marriage of the two? Case study of Georgia
Seminar given by Levan Kakhishvili, Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences (BAGSS), Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg
When? Tuesday 17th of October, 15:15-17:00 (CET)
Where? https://mau-se.zoom.us/j/64850283542
Description: Party competition in hybrid regimes, especially in post-Soviet context, is often treated as a popularity contest of the party leaders seeking public office. At best, it is assumed that competition is over votes through informal networks and vote-buying practices, while policy ideas are almost entirely absent from the equation. This, however, is a rather simplistic account of party politics in hybrid regimes. Party competition in non-democratic contexts is a complex phenomenon and exhibits both programmatic and clientelistic characteristics. Therefore, studying hybrid regimes can lead to answers to questions such as: How do parties win elections in hybrid regimes? How does clientelistic competition work? How does it co-exist with programmatic competition? How does programmatic competition emerge? Why do parties produce electoral programmes in contexts where they matter little in terms of electoral outcome? Based on the primary data of 48 hand-coded party manifestos, 16 in-depth interviews with party representatives, 20 informal interviews with electoral brokers, and publicly available surveys, this research explores the questions of party competition in post-Soviet Georgia.
Levan Kakhishvili