ABSTRACT

The ambition of the study is to provide a description of the forms and functions of clientelism, thus looking at the differences between “rural” forms of clientelism that still rely on familiar brokerage, and their implications in terms of the power status of local bosses, and the “urban” forms of transactional exchanges, that are less efficient by comparison, and require more innovative monitoring mechanisms. In order to assess the likelihood of structurally embedded long-term clientelistic relationships, which take the form of patronage, or discretionary use of state resources, the second part of the empirical analysis uses such proxies as the levels of corruption or political incohesiveness. The present paper serves as a starting point for further research on these more pervasive and more contentious aspects of clientelism within state structures.