Mizukoshi, Kazuma; (2021) Programmatic and Territorial Coherence: The Nationalization of Electoral Politics in Brazil in Comparative Perspective. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Text Mizukoshi's Thesis (post-viva, final version-07 Feb 2021t).pdf - Accepted Version Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

The dynamics of electoral politics in contemporary Latin America have changed considerably since the democratic transition period of the 1980s and 1990s. Some established parties have collapsed, even while parties on the Left and Right that proved less competitive in these early elections managed over time to expand support and increase their representation in national legislatures. How were they able to do so? The key to answering this question lies in their capacity to nationalize their support base by building a programme-based elite with mass linkages. The Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT) in Brazil has been among the most successful parties in drawing a nationwide swing of support. However, the principal arguments in the literature on party nationalization cannot account for such an equalizing swing of support because they mostly focus on variations between countries, not between parties. Hence it is important to take into account both elite and mass electoral preferences. For a party to succeed in nationalizing its support base, the left–right stances of individual politicians and supporters should be as collectively coherent along national issues between electoral districts as they would be within each district. This thesis develops this argument by focusing on the PT in Brazil. The empirical analysis draws on a series of elite and mass public opinion surveys conducted between 1997 and 2014.

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