WCED Book Talk. "Mobilizing for Elections: Patronage and Political Machines in Southeast Asia"

Politicians in Southeast Asia, as in many other regions, win elections by distributing cash, goods, jobs, projects, and other benefits to supporters, but the ways in which they do this vary tremendously, both across and within countries. "Mobilizing for Elections" presents a new framework for analyzing variation in patronage democracies, focusing on distinct forms of patronage and different networks through which it is distributed. The book draws on an extensive, multi-country, multi-year research effort involving interactions with hundreds of politicians and vote brokers, as well as surveys of voters and political campaigners across the region. - Cambridge University Press, 2022

Edward Aspinall is a Professor in the Department of Political and Social Change, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University. He researches politics in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, with interests in democratization, ethnicity, and clientelism, among other topics.

Paul Hutchcroft is a scholar of comparative and Southeast Asian politics who has written extensively on Philippine politics and political economy. He is Professor of Political and Social Change in the Australian National University’s Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs (of which he was founding director, 2009-2013).

Allen Hicken is Professor of Political Science at U-M where he is also an affiliate at the Center for Political Studies, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and WCED. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Singapore Management University in the School of Social Sciences. His work focuses on political institutions, political economy, and policy making with a special focus on Southeast Asia, where he focuses on Thailand and the Philippines, but has also work in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Timor Leste.

Meredith L. Weiss is Professor of Political Science in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, SUNY. She has published widely on social mobilization and civil society, the politics of identity and development, electoral politics and parties, institutional reform, and subnational governance in Southeast Asia, with particular focus on Malaysia and Singapore.

This lecture will be presented in person in 1010 Weiser Hall and on Zoom. Webinar registration required at http://myumi.ch/5W7Qq

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at weisercenter@umich.edu. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.