The impact of political assassinations on turnout: Evidence from Colombia.

ABSTRACT: Although a growing literature has investigated the effects of various types of civil war violence on political behavior, no study has examined the impact of assassinations targeting politicians. This is a critical omission, as violence against local politicians is prevalent across civil war contexts and may be the most consequential form of violence for political participation by affecting both candidate supply and voter demand. Using an original dataset of nearly 2,000 killings of Colombian local politicians between 1980 and 2023, we estimate the impact of this violence on voter turnout. Taking municipalities where assassination attempts failed as a comparison group, we find that political assassinations significantly decrease voter turnout in both the short and medium terms, with effects

SUBMITTER: Arjona A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11929383 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature