States are often minimally present in the rural periphery. Yet a limited presence does not
mean a limited impact. Isolated state actions in regions where the state is otherwise scarce …

The recent expansion of the primary electorate by one of Ghana's major parties offers a rare
opportunity to assess the effects of franchise extensions in contemporary new democracies …

Why do party leaders constrain their own power and allow the use of primary elections? I
develop a model of intraparty politics and electoral competition in which an ambitious office …

A major challenge for the advancement of democratic governance in Africa is the extraction
of money by ruling parties from the state to fund their electoral campaigns and gain political …

Do nomination rules shape how voters evaluate their representatives? Some scholars argue
that, in places where trust in political parties is low, primary elections can be an electoral …

Abstract Candidate Selection and Political Accountability in African Legislative Elections, is
rooted in a puzzle: incumbent presidents and parties in sub-Saharan Africa and across the …

Ghana provides an interesting case of a democratic developing country in which clientelism
is pervasive yet vote buying is rare. Drawing on fieldwork and recent scholarship, and …

Candidate selection procedures play a crucial role in shaping parliaments and influencing
the quality of democracy. Yet, our understanding of what motivates parties to reform …

This dissertation investigates how political parties can undermine the representation of
citizen interests in new democracies. Conventional wisdom has emphasized the centrality of …

Candidate selection procedures play a crucial role in shaping parliaments and influence the
quality of democracy. Yet our understanding of how and why political parties reform their …