Do Candidate Debates Strengthen Emerging Democracies?  

Candidate debates are important, and highly publicized,  campaign events. Increasingly, government and non-governmental organizations are organizing them in new democracies and hybrid regimes around the world, with the goals of increasing voter knowledge and access to information about policy platforms and promises, making it easier for voters to vote for candidates who share their policy preferences, promoting policy-based campaign and voting (as opposed to clientelistic or identity-based campaigning and voting), enhancing political tolerance, and reducing political violence. But, do candidate debates achieve these important goals?