Partisan identification in Africa : an exploratory study in Mozambique

• Main Author: Pereira, Joao C G
• Other Authors: Mattes, Robert
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2014
• Subjects: Political Studies
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/3713

Includes abstract. === Includes bibliographical references (272-302). === In this study the sources of partisan identification in Mozambique are examined. It examines whether reported identification with the governing or opposition parties is related to the kinds of factors usually identified in the comparative literature on partisan identification and voting behaviour. These factors include social cleavages (such as ethnicity or region), cultural values (such as individualism versus collectivism, democratic versus authoritarian values), economic factors (including ‘pocketbook’ assessments and sociotropic assessments, retrospective and prospective evaluations), political factors (including assessments of the performance of the government) and cognitive awareness (including access to media or political discussions with friends). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the significance of these various factors in partisan identification. The results of the study revealed that partisan support for the ruling party in Mozambique is driven by popular evaluations of the performance of the incumbent; secondly, partisan support for opposition parties is difficult to predict.