English to Portuguese Social Sciences Religion religião e política

At least four possible mechanisms could help explain the proximity of clergy and legislator views: the first two involve one actor imparting its views to the other, while the third and fourth involve different selection mechanisms. One potential explanation entails direct clergy influence: politicians might deliberately take cues from clergy, whom they recognize as gatekeepers to evangelical votes. Alternatively, the arrow of influence might go in the opposite direction: clergy could take policy cues from ingroup politicians, at least on issues such as economic policy.

As Grossman notes, “One implication of the weak party system prevalent in Africa is that… opposition parties commonly lack…the…capacity necessary to stimulate new issue dimensions. Instead, they are more likely to react to cues from incumbents or organized social groups” .