What explains the popularity of right-wing parties amongst the poor? This paper argues that in hierarchical societies with high social-status inequality, poor high-status voters may ally with rich high-status voters if they believe their social-status is under threat. I demonstrate this in the...

Our empirical research in India shows the poor and the non-poor report different motivations for voting. The poor say they turn out to vote because it is their right while the non-poor report they vote because they expect material benefits from the state, some kind of access to the state, or...

How do elite parties win over poor voters while maintaining their core constituencies? How can religious parties expand their electoral base? This paper argues that social service provision constitutes an important electoral strategy for elite-backed religious parties to succeed in developing...