MESA Banner
Explaining Government Responsiveness in Ramadan in the Muslim World
Abstract
In this paper, I document that governments in Muslim majority countries express more responsiveness to citizens' economic concerns in the Islamic month of Ramadan. They expand their protections to lower-income groups and make symbolic gestures in their support. Given that, I argue that these actions aim at signaling two qualities about incumbents: capacity and goodness. This is employed to cultivate more political support among their religious populations and absorb potential public discontent due to economic insecurities in the religious season. This argument is demonstrated using case-studies from various Muslim majority countries in the MENA region.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
All Middle East
Sub Area
None