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5 - Targeting Groups

Pork Barreling and Club Goods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2022

Edward Aspinall
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra
Meredith L. Weiss
Affiliation:
State University of New York, Albany
Allen Hicken
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Paul D. Hutchcroft
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra
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Summary

Chapter 5 examines the patronage type found most consistently across Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines: meso-particularism (commonly called pork, club goods, or local public goods). This involves distribution of patronage to groups. The chapter distinguishes groups targeted with such patronage: networks of affect orient around religious, cultural, or other social purposes; networks of benefit are tied to income-generating, employment, or other material needs. The chapter explains when and how community-level elected officials act as key brokers in these exchanges. It identifies four reasons why candidates adopt meso-particularism: (1) it is less costly than dispensing cash or other individual patronage to voters; (2) it carries less social and legal stigma; (3) it allows politicians to provide benefits throughout the electoral cycle; (4) it promotes monitoring by focusing on groups rather than individuals. The chapter shows that meso-particularism rarely involves a clear quid pro quo; its value is in building a brand, buying credibility, and protecting turf. It involves contingent patronage only when candidates deal with group leaders able reliably to deliver followers’ votes.

Type
Chapter
Information
Mobilizing for Elections
Patronage and Political Machines in Southeast Asia
, pp. 125 - 149
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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