The key to the impact of international election support is credibility; credible elections are less likely to turn violent. So argues Inken von Borzyskowski in The Credibility Challenge , in which she provides an explanation of why and when election support can increase or reduce violence.
Von Borzyskowski answers four major questions: Under what circumstances can election support influence election violence? How can election support shape the incentives of domestic actors to engage in or abstain from violence? Does support help reduce violence or increase it? And, which type of support—observation or technical assistance—is better in each instance? The Credibility Challenge pulls broad quantitative evidence and qualitative observations from Guyana, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh to respond to these questions. Von Borzyskowski finds that international democracy aid matters for election credibility and violence; outside observers can exacerbate postelection violence if they cast doubt on election credibility; and technical assistance helps build electoral institutions, improves election credibility, and reduces violence. Her results advance research and policy on peacebuilding and democracy promotion in new and surprising ways.
Review
"Inken von Borzyskowski's The Credibility Challenge is thought-provoking and sure to stir debate about the appropriate role of international actors in their longstanding efforts to promote democracy around the world."
(Susan Hyde, University of California, Berkeley)
"Many elections in Africa and Asia are marred by outbreaks of violence, leading to instability and bloodshed. What triggers conflict? This thought-provoking new book suggests that technical election assistance by the international community strengthens public confidence in the electoral authorities, generates credible outcomes, and thereby dampens violence. An invaluable and original contribution for scholars and practitioners interested in international development, civil wars, democracy and elections."
(Pippa Norris, Harvard University)
"This rigorous, compelling addition to the research literature on international democracy aid makes two especially valuable contributions―probing the complex, at times troubling relationship between international election assistance and electoral violence, and highlighting the neglected issue of technical elections assistance, rather than only focusing on electoral observation. Highly recommended for both practitioners and scholars."
(Tom Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
"If the UN blue helmet was the symbol of the international community's commitment to creating peace in the developing world, then the election monitor was its equivalent for democracy promotion. Today having an election observed' by international monitors is a prerequisite for having its results deemed credible. When monitors deter fraud, elections run better and are less violent. But if monitors criticize an election, opposition groups are emboldened to take their case to the streets and the risk of violence spikes. The Credibility Challenge documents this tension through painstaking data collection and state-of-the-art statistical methods. It is an important book for theorists and practitioners of democracy."
(Irfan Nooruddin, Georgetown University)
"In this carefully-argued and meticulously-documented book, von Borzyskowski upends the conventional wisdom that elections in poor places are bound to be violent. Focusing on Africa and Latin America, the author shows that whether elections are violent or not depends on external technical assistance and international election observers. Technical assistance makes for more peaceful contests, whereas observers' denouncements of fraud make for more violence. A rare combination of rigor, empirical depth, and policy-relevance, this study will set the tone in the conversation on the role of the international community in elections."
(Nikolay Marinov, University of Houston)
" The Credibility Challenge is a clear, compelling, and engaging account of how international monitoring and assistance can reduce election violence. The importance of the topic, the novelty of the data, and the careful manner in which evidence is examined make this book a real achievement."
(Daniela Donno Panayides, University of Pittsburgh, and author of Defending Democratic Norms )
" The Credibility Challenge is such a timely book. Intuitive and compelling, it enriches and expands our understanding of the causes of election violence. This book will find eager readership among scholars of comparative politics."
(Emily Beaulieu, University of Kentucky, and author of Electoral Protest and Democracy in the developing World )
About the Author
Inken von Borzyskowski is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Florida State University. Her research has appeared in International Studies Quarterly , British Journal of Political Science , and Review of International Organizations .

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von Borzyskowski, Inken

Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Cornell University

United States, United States of America

1, 20190615

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<P>The key to the impact of international election support is credibility; credible elections are less likely to turn violent. So argues Inken von Borzyskowski in <I>The Credibility Challenge</I>, in which she provides an explanation of why and when election support can increase or reduce violence. </P><P>Von Borzyskowski answers four major questions: Under what circumstances can election support influence election violence? How can election support shape the incentives of domestic actors to engage in or abstain from violence? Does support help reduce violence or increase it? And, which type of support—observation or technical assistance—is better in each instance? <I>The Credibility Challenge</I> pulls broad quantitative evidence and qualitative observations from Guyana, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh to respond to these questions. Von Borzyskowski finds that international democracy aid matters for election credibility and violence; outside observers can exacerbate postelection violence if they cast doubt on election credibility; and technical assistance helps build electoral institutions, improves election credibility, and reduces violence. Her results advance research and policy on peacebuilding and democracy promotion in new and surprising ways.</P>

The Credibility Challenge 1
Contents 8
List of Figures and Tables 10
Acknowledgments 12
Abbreviations 14
Introduction: The Question of Democracy Aid and Election Violence 18
1. Credible Election Theory 48
2. Shaping the Electoral Environment: International Support and Pre-Election Violence 88
3. The Dark Side: International Condemnation and Post-Election Violence 117
4. The Upside: Technical Assistance and Reduced Post-Election Violence 141
Conclusion: Improving Democracy Aid for Credible and Peaceful Elections 166
Appendix to Chapter 1 182
Appendix to Chapter 3 200
Notes 204
References 222
Index 238

2025-10-27