2023/09/01 by Prisca Jöst, Matthias Krönke, Sarah J. Lockwood +1 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender Politics and Representation #Media Influence and Politics
paper · doi:10.1177/00104140231194064
openalex publication_date 2023/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Scholars and policymakers widely view identity as a key driver of African citizens’ political engagement. In doing so, however, they have emphasized ethnicity and largely sidelined other identities, including gender, local origin, shared residency, and partisanship. In this paper, we explore which identities drive political engagement and why they do so. We employ an original survey experiment that includes various identities and other incentives that may drive citizens’ participation around Zambia’s 2021 national elections. We find that partisanship most influences individuals’ stated willingness to campaign for a candidate or meet with an MP, while ethnicity and social incentives play less significant roles. Finally, we explore the mechanisms underpinning these results and find that citizens anticipate sanctions if they fail to support a co-partisan but not a co-ethnic candidate. These findings have important implications for understanding political engagement and democratic development throughout the region.