Electoral Chairs’ Seminars – January 23th

The electoral performance of the revolutionary parties

Jean Lachapelle – Associate Professor at Université de Montréal

This presentation analyzes the consequences of violent revolutions on electoral competition in an authoritarian context through a study of Algeria. I present unpublished data on clashes between armed groups and law enforcement during the Algerian War of Independence, constructed from declassified archival documents and automated text analysis methods. The data reveal that the communes with the most violent clashes during the war of independence voted more heavily for the ruling National Liberation Front (NLF) party in the first multiparty elections in 1991. These results suggest that the NLF gained a stronger foothold in areas where fighting was more intense, allowing it to perform better in the first free elections. The presentation explores the implications of these results for the study of authoritarianism, democratic transitions, and the survival of ruling parties during periods of political liberalization.

This content has been updated on 19 January 2023 at 14 h 40 min.