Outside the Institutional Box: Why Political Parties Use Pre-electoral Violence in Bangladesh
By
Nafisa Tahmina Akbar
A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Political Science
Committee in charge:
Pradeep K. Chhibber, Chair Robert L. Powell Leonardo R. Arriola Raka Ray
Spring 2016
Abstract
Outside the Institutional Box: Why Political Parties Use Pre-electoral Violence in Bangladesh
by
Nafisa Tahmina Akbar
Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science
University of California, Berkeley
Professor Pradeep K. Chhibber, Chair
Under what conditions do political parties use pre-electoral violence as a campaign strategy in Bangladesh? Pre-electoral violence has been a consistently regular precursor to each and every election in Bangladesh, with the most recent national election on January 5, 2014, being one of the bloodiest and most undemocratic. However, not all constituencies in Bangladesh experience the same level of pre-electoral violence. There are some like Dhaka - 8 that saw approximately 150 episodes of violence prior to the 2014 elections, while others like Gopalgonj - 3 saw none. What explains this variation? In this paper, I argue and demonstrate using a negative binomial regression model as well as case study and interview data that the ways in which individuals interface with the state (either through the bureaucracy on their own or through the use of local leaders) and the level of information parties have on voter preferences impact the level of pre- electoral violence in constituencies across Bangladesh.