Money in Politics

Simon Weschle

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781316511848
• eBook ISBN: 9781009062930
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

In politics, money is often the name of the game. Politicians enrich themselves while in office, spend campaign money to finance their re-election, and accept lucrative 'golden parachute' jobs after leaving office. Money in Politics argues that these different forms of capital are part of a common system and should be analyzed in a single framework. The book advances a comparative theory that shows how self-enrichment, campaign spending, and golden parachute jobs are connected to each other. This theory explains when and how money enters politics, ultimately illuminating that a change in one form affects the other types and revealing the consequences this has for democracy. The book uses a wide range of evidence from countries around the world, including causally identified quantitative studies, qualitative cross-national comparisons, and original survey experiments. Enlightening and instructive, this book shows that we can only fully comprehend the role of money in politics when we view it as a common system to be analyzed and critiqued.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Types of Money in Politics
• 3 The System of Money in Politics
• 4 The Connection between Self-Enrichment and Campaign Spending
• 5 The Connection between Campaign Spending and Golden Parachute Jobs
• 6 The System of Money in Politics in Comparative Perspective
• 7 Consequences for Democracy
• 8 Evolving the Conversation about Money in Politics
• Appendix: Formalization of the Argument
• References
• Index