Enfranchisement and representation: evidence from the introduction of “quasi-universal” suffrage in Italy

Larcinese, Valentino ORCID: 0000-0002-7780-3093 (2024) Enfranchisement and representation: evidence from the introduction of “quasi-universal” suffrage in Italy. Journal of Politics, 86 (2). ISSN 0022-3816

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Abstract

Does introducing de jure political equality affect legislative representation and the identity of elected politicians? This article exploits differences in enfranchisement rates across electoral districts to present evidence on the consequences of one of the most sizable franchise extensions in European history, the 1912 Italian reform, which trebled the electorate and left electoral rules and district boundaries unchanged. Enfranchisement increased the vote share of left-wing social reformers but had no impact on their parliamentary representation, on the parliamentary representation of the aristocracy and traditional elites, or on political competition. I document and analyze elite’s efforts to minimize the political impact of enfranchisement: social reformers were systematically defeated in districts that saw a surge in political violence as well as in districts where conservative candidates had signed a secret pact (the Gentiloni pact) with the Catholic Electoral Union. I discuss the implications of these findings for theories of democratization and elite persistence.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/jop/current
Additional Information:	© 2024 Southern Political Science Association
Divisions:	Government
Subjects:	J Political Science
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2023 17:33
Last Modified:	22 Apr 2024 12:39
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120808

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