Description: In Controlling Territory, Controlling Voters Wahman focuses on the political geography of election violence in Africa, particularly in Zambia and Malawi, building on one important observation: elections in many African countries are highly regional and the support for political parties are rarely nationalized.
Review Quotes: "Michael Wahman advances an eloquent theory and offers rich original data that takes territory seriously... This richly detailed and insightful book makes valuable contributions to scholarship on election violence, subnational authoritarianism, and democratization in Africa and beyond... The book's argument and findings point to important questions for future research." -- Megan Turnbull, African Studies Review
"Wahman develops [his] arguments insightfully and shows later in the book that they hold true for other countries beyond the scope of his study." -- Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs"Controlling Territory, Controlling Voters unlocks an entirely new area of research for scholars to explore the unique dynamics of African electoral geography. Thus, the book is a must read not just for scholars of electoral violence, but for anyone interested in political behavior or electoral campaigns in Africa." -- Natalie Wenzell Letsa, African Studies Review"Drawing on very careful case studies of Zambia and Malawi, Wahman uses a variety of data sources to show how election violence is used to maintain "geographically polarized [party] systems." Like the rest of Wahman's work, the book is meticulously researched and very careful about the strengths and weaknesses of the data presented." -- Adrienne Lebas, African Studies Review "Recommended." -- Choice"Controlling Territory, Controlling Voters presents a new theory for why electoral violence occurs in geographically polarized electoral systems where national level electoral majorities are nevertheless required to assume office." -- Nils Petter Gleditsch, Journal of Peace Research Book Notes"The book has several strengths. Notably, the argument puts forward an electoral role of electoral violence and links this to the more general theories on electoral behavior, from political cleavages to authoritarian control. Wahman brings his extensive knowledge on African politics to the table, which shines in the rich empirical chapters on Zambia and Malawi." -- Haakon Gjerløw, Journal of Peace Research"Wahman's book provides a valuable framework for understanding electoral violence. One of the mostcompelling insights of the book is the argument that parties compete for visual dominance in specific areas." -- Paige Bollon, The Journal of Development Studies