HSS F362: Local Governance and
Participation
Lecture 19
Mohan Kumar Bera
BITS Pilani Goa Campus
• Local democracy and clientelism : Clientelism
Introduction
• Clientelism or client politics is the exchange of goods and services for political
support, often involving an implicit or explicit
• Clientelism is closely related to patronage politics and vote buying
• Clientelism involves an asymmetric relationship between groups of political
actors described as patrons, brokers, and clients
• In client politics an organized minority or interest group benefits at the
expense of the public.
Introduction
• Client politics may have a strong interaction with the dynamics of identity
politics
• This is particularly common in a pluralist system, such as in India and USA,
where minorities can have considerable power shaping public policy.
• The opposite of client politics is 'entrepreneurial' politics, or conviction politics.
Forms of clientelism
• Politicians can engage in clientelism on either (or both) a group or individual
level.
• One way individual level clientelism can manifest itself is in a vote buying
relationship: a politician gives a citizen goods or services, and, in exchange, that
individual citizen promises to vote for that politician in the next election.
• Individual level clientelism can also be carried out through coercion where
citizens are threatened with lack of goods or services unless they vote for a
certain politician or party.
• The relationship can also work in the opposite direction, where voters pressure
politicians into clientelistic relationships in exchange for electoral support.
Clientelism in context
• Clientelism may not look the same from context to context
• Several individual and country-level factors may shape if and how clientelism
takes hold in a country including the types of individual leaders, socio-
economic status of individuals, economic development, democratization, and
institutional factors
• In some contexts, clientelistic behavior is almost expected, as such
interactions can become embedded in the formal political structures.
• Some types of leaders such as hereditary traditional leaders, who remain in
power for extended periods of time, are more effective in carrying out
clientelistic relationships than others such as elected officials.
Clientelism in context
• Politicians can benefit electorally from clientelistic relationships by gaining
support from those who receive goods from them, but there are also potential
costs since clientelistic politicians may lose support from wealthier voters, who
do not engage in clientelistic relationships themselves view the practice
negatively.
• Not all voters view clientelistic behavior as a positive trait in politicians,
especially voters of higher socioeconomic statuses.
• There is no single factor that causes clientelism to take hold.
Consequences of Clientelism
• Clientelism has generally-negative consequences on democracy and
government and has more uncertain consequences on the economy.
• The accountability relationship in a democracy in which voters hold elected
officials accountable for their actions, is undermined by clientelism.
– That is because clientelism makes votes contingent on gifts to clients, rather than
the performance of elected officials in office.
• Clientelism also degrades democratic institutions such as the secret ballot and
administrative oversight.
– Such factors both weaken democratic institutions and negatively impact the
efficiency of government.
Consequences of Clientelism
• Clientelism in context Consequences Corruption and the perception of
corruption have also been established as strongly correlated with clientelist
systems for many reasons.
• One is that patrons often appear above the law in many clientelist systems.
• Also, some acts in clientelist systems such as vote buying, could be inherently
illegal.
• Finally, resources needed for patrons to maintain the clientelist system may
require illicit means to obtain goods.
• A 2021 study found that voters in clientelist systems are less willing to punish
corrupt politicians electorally.
Consequences of Clientelism
• Some scholars believe that because patrons focus on the control and
procurement of private goods, they also neglect public goods such as
roads and public schools, which aid economic development.
• Scholars also note that rent-seeking and corruption, prevalent in clientelist
systems, could negatively impact the economy as well.
• Nevertheless, there is still great uncertainty in the economic effects of
clientelism.