Life in the political machine, Hiskey, Jonathan T. (associate Professor Of Political Science, Associate Professor Of Political Science, Vanderbilt University) Moseley, Mason W. (ass

Life in the Political Machine offers one of the first systematic explorations of the ways in which subnational dominant-party enclaves influence citizens political attitudes and behaviors through a focus on the provinces and states of Argentina and Mexico. Specifically, the authors find starkly
divergent patterns of political attitudes and behaviors among citizens in dominant-party enclaves as opposed to those living in competitive multiparty systems. In the latter, the authors find a political culture that approximates what scholars have long documented in established democracies. In the
former, they uncover three factors--the politicization of the rule of law, an uneven electoral playing field, and the partisan cooptation of state resources--that strongly shape citizens understanding of democratic principles, accountability, and political participation. The authors argue that this
environment erodes public support for democracy at the national level and that these local strongholds of illiberalism thus provide added fuel to the recent drift from democracy globally. Ultimately, this book calls for greater attention to subnational variations in citizens political attitudes and
behaviors in order to more fully understand the process through which a national democratic political culture can emerge.