Electoral Violence Case Study

A great number of studies have explored electoral violence and linked it to other related concepts such as democracy and voting behavior. Moreover, most published works are case studies of various countries specifically in Africa andn Asia. These case studies that contributed most to the literature identifies the causes as well as the effects of electoral violence. Also some scholars provided strategies to mitigate the problem. A great chunk of literature that examines electoral violence have been done outside the Philippines but there are also a number of scholars who have somehow delved into the issue of electoral violence within the country. Furthermore most of the studies in the Philippines have concentrated on the political structures
Moreover they added that similar definition would greatly help in monitoring and mitigating the problem of ERV especially in post- conflict societies in the early phase of democratization. Another definition also produced by UNDP report that have been used in understanding electoral violence in Asia provides that Electoral violence is “ Any acts or threats of coercion, intimidation, or physical harm perpetuated to affect an electoral process, or that arise in the context of electoral competition. When perpetrated to affect an electoral process, violence may be employed to influence the process of elections- such as efforts to delay, disrupt or derail a poll – or to influence the outcomes…” Moreover this definition is based from the characteristics of electoral violence gathered from the studies done in different countries. Therefore it can be concluded that most
There are two ways in which political violence can be viewed. Mars (1975) explained political violence might be viewed as a useful and legitimate tool, especially of the state to maintain peace and order on the other hand it can be viewed as illegitimate that causes chaos in the state. Honderich’s (1976, 9) definition of political violence falls on the latter approach which sees it as a destroyer of peace and order. He defined the term as “…a considerable or destroying use of force against persons or things, a use of force prohibited by law, directed to a changes in existence of individuals in the society and perhaps other societies.” On the other hand Nieburg (1969) sees the importance of political violence which can be an instrument to bolster law enforcement and settle conflicts to attain peace and order. Hence because this proposal aims to understand electoral violence, the approach that sees political violence as illegitimate will be adapted in this