Local Connections: Social Networks, Local Politicians, and Neighborhood Leaders in a Developing Democracy
Abstract
How do interpersonal discussions affect political learning, turnout, and clientelistic dispositions in a Brazilian municipal election campaign? A large literature on political socialization and social networks conceptualizes networks as small, tightly knit groups of a few intimate discussants. This yields an image not of every person as an island, but of every four-person network as an island. Many politically relevant networks, however, involve not the closest friends and family, but rather casual day-to-day interactions with local political activists and neighborhood leaders. Survey data from the 2008 election campaign in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, reveal that a very high percentage of respondents know both political activists and leaders of neighborhood associations, quasi-governmental but volunteer-run groups that serve as intermediaries between local politicians and residents. Hierarchical models reveal that such connections are more likely in lower-income and more clientelistic neighborhoods. They often have a more powerful effect on political knowledge and turnout than do social network ties to one’s closest discussants. At the same time, such connections also promote clientelistic dispositions.