rather than separate political universes,
does not invalidate efforts to draw sharp conceptual distinctions between these methods of political mobilization.
Like many other contributors to this volume and others who study clientelism, we are drawn to the topic in part because it tarnishes the quality of democracy in many developing countries and new democracies around the world, a fact that is not lost on citizens in these countries.
But understanding what clientelism is and how it works can help us to understand the limitations of democratic politics in poor, new democracies and in wealthy, old democracies alike.