The Hidden Effects of Civic Education on Vote-Buying Disclosure in African Democracies

This study investigates how civic education influences citizens’ willingness to disclose exposure to vote buying in African democracies. Drawing on Afrobarometer Round 5 data (2011–2013) from 29 countries and civic education indicators from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset, the paper applies Bayesian multilevel regression to examine the dual mechanisms through which civic education operates: enhancing recognition of vote buying while simultaneously deepening norm internalization that discourages disclosure through social desirability bias. The analysis finds no consistent main effect of civic education on self-reported exposure to vote buying; however, its impact is conditional on political efficacy and regime type. Citizens with higher political efficacy are significantly less likely to disclose vote-buying experiences, suggesting that norm internalization heightens moral self-censorship. By contrast, economic insecurity weakly moderates this relationship, with poorer citizens showing only slightly lower reporting tendencies. The findings challenge the assumption that civic education uniformly promotes transparency or reduces clientelism, revealing instead that it may reinforce civic norms that suppress open reporting of undemocratic practices. The study contributes a dual-mechanism theory of civic education, emphasizing that its influence on political behavior operates as much through moral restraint and social desirability as through empowerment and awareness.