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Professor and Former Student Publish Research in Politics Journal

CONWAY, Ark. (July 27, 2014) – A research article by recent Hendrix graduate Mitch Goist ’13 and Hendrix international relations and politics professor Dr. Kiril Kolev was recently accepted for publication in the Midsouth Political Science Review.

Goist is currently pursuing his doctorate in political science at Pennsylvania State University.

The article titled “Empowering the Marginalized Voter: Clientelism in Heterogeneous Electorates” analyzes the tradeoff between programmatic politics and clientelism in 85 countries that have competitive elections.

“It illustrates that when politicians rely on clientelism and promise tangible material benefits instead of policies when running for office, minority citizens in ethno-religiously diverse countries are more likely to vote and stay engaged in the political process,” Kolev said. “This challenges widely accepted notions that clientelism is always less desirable than programmatism in the electoral process.”

The article was partially funded by research and conference travel funds that Kolev received through Hendrix.

Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report.  Hendrix is featured in the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, as well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.