The Autocratic Voter
Partisanship and Political Socialization under Dictatorship

Provides a social identity framework for understanding why ordinary people in autocratic regimes choose to get involved in politics.

Natalie Wenzell Letsa (Author)

9781009639859, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 August 2025

278 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.1 cm, 0.55 kg

'The Autocratic Voter is a compelling and thought-provoking book that presents a wealth of meticulously developed data and a strong argument essential to the study of political behaviour. It will appeal not only to specialists in African politics, who will appreciate its perspective on the origins of partisanship in Cameroon and elsewhere on the continent, but also to a broader audience interested in partisanship in electoral autocracies.' Justine Davis, The Journal of Development Studies

In The Autocratic Voter, Natalie Wenzell Letsa explores the motivations behind why citizens in electoral autocracies choose to participate in politics and support political parties. With electoral autocracies becoming the most common type of regime in the modern world, Letsa challenges the dominant materialist framework for understanding political behavior and presents an alternative view of partisanship as a social identity. Her book argues that despite the irrationality and obstacles to participating in autocratic politics, people are socialized into becoming partisans by their partisan friends and family. This socialization process has a cascading effect that can either facilitate support for regime change and democracy or sustain the status quo. By delving into the social identity of partisanship, The Autocratic Voter offers a new perspective on political behavior in electoral autocracies that has the potential to shape the future of these regimes.

1. Partisanship in electoral autocracies
2. Social networks, political geography, and partisan socialization
3. The case of Cameroon
4. Opposition and ruling party partisanship as social identities
5. Pathways to partisanship
6. Political influence within networks
7. Processes of political socialization
8. The political geography of electoral autocracies
9. Political realities in party strongholds
10. The power and importance of partisan identities
Appendix 1. Full sampling schedule of public opinion survey
Appendix 2. Life histories of Henri, Titus, Patience and Justo
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB]