fence-mending

English

Noun

fence-mending (uncountable)

1. (politics) Social assistance given to a community in order to retain popularity with the electorate.
   • 1972, David Kwavnick, Organized Labour and Pressure Politics, page 15:

     In summary, the recognition of the mandate of a group by government is useful not only to the group's leaders but to government as well. The existence and operations of organized groups introduce an element of stability into the political process; […] they enable government to carry on a continuous process of “fence mending” by continually drawing attention to the fences which require mending; […]

   • 1995, Jack Bass, The Transformation of Southern Politics, page 295:

     Patronage and political fence mending had come to bore him.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fence,‎ mend.

Related terms

• mend fences

Further reading

• “fence-mending”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “fence-mending”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.