Diffusion of Diaspora Enfranchisement Norms: A Multinational Study

    Authors

    A. Turcu;R. Urbatsch

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Comp. Polit. Stud.

    Keywords

    elections; public opinion and voting behavior; migration; representation; and electoral systems; DEMOCRATIC ELECTORAL SYSTEMS; PRESIDENTIAL-ELECTION; POLICY DIFFUSION; CURRENCY CRISES; INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION; POLITICAL-ECONOMY; DUAL; CITIZENSHIP; INSTITUTIONS; CONTAGION; NETWORKS; Political Science

    Abstract

    States have increasingly granted voting rights to their citizens overseas. Traditional accounts of franchise extension suggest that governments' motivations are either political (new voters are expected to support the incumbent government) or, in the case of citizens abroad, materialist (a fortified link to migrants encourages remittance flows). Although these factors doubtless matter, they overlook the tendency for liberal norms to diffuse through the international system, as competition with and learning from neighbors motivate the adoption of relevant policies and institutions. We use large-N cross-national hazard models to examine whether a similar pattern holds for diaspora enfranchisement and find that neighbors' recent enactment of overseas voting nearly doubles the chance that a country will enfranchise its own diaspora. This suggests a role for international norms in determining national voting policies.

    Journal Title

    Comparative Political Studies

    Volume

    48

    Issue/Number

    4

    Publication Date

    1-1-2015

    Document Type

    Review

    Language

    English

    First Page

    407

    Last Page

    437

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000349320200001

    ISSN

    0010-4140

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