The Credibility Challenge ― How Democracy Aid Influences Election Violence

The key to the impact of international election support is credibility; credible elections are less likely to turn violent. So argues Inken von Borzyskowski in The Credibility Challenge, in which she provides an explanation of why and when election support can increase violence and when it can reduce it.

Von Borzyskowski answers four major questions: under what circumstances can election support influence election violence? How can election support shape the incentives of domestic actors to engage in or abstain from violence? Does support help reduce violence or increase it? And, which type of support —observation or technical assistance—is best in each instance? The Credibility Challenge pulls broad quantitative evidence and also qualitative case materials from Guyana, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh to respond to these questions. What von Borzyskowski finds is that international democracy aid matters for election credibility and violence; election observers can exacerbate post-election violence if they cast doubt on election credibility; and technical election assistance helps build electoral institutions, improves election credibility, and reduces violence. Her results advance research and policy on peacebuilding and democracy promotion in new and surprising ways.