Paper short abstract:

Why are some regions in a country more likely than others to see electoral violence? The purpose of this paper is to address this research question. We do so through an in-depth case study of Kono in Eastern Sierra Leone.

Paper long abstract:

Why are some regions in a country more likely than others to see electoral violence? In spite of recent promising scholarly developments, we still know little about the causes of such violence. In particular, few studies have explored these issues on a sub-national level, seeking to explain why some geographical localities are more violence-prone than others. The purpose of this paper is to address this research question. We do so through an in-depth case study of Kono in Eastern Sierra Leone, a region where elections have been accompanied by high levels of violence.

We argue that the reason is to be found in Kono's position as a political swing state. In a country otherwise strongly governed by an overlapping ethnic and regional logic, Kono is ethnically diversified and politically split, and may swing in either direction. This renders Kono a highly courted district by all political parties, contributing to raising the stakes of elections. Aspiring politicians approach the large number of young people - many of which are ex-combatants - who reside in Kono in the hope of profiting from the diamond mining business, and promise them short-term benefits in exchange for mobilising electoral support and carrying out attacks on their political opponents. Similarly, they make use of local chiefs who are dependent on political connections and economic resources to retain their influence. In this way, national and local interests collide in the establishment of mutually dependent relations that contribute to increase the risk of violence around elections in Kono.