Democracy In Africa Research Articles

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the end of the Cold War, did not have an effect only on the Germans whose countries were re-united, or the combatants of the Cold War – the United States and the Soviet Union. Rather, the effects of these events affected many countries worldwide, especially developing countries who have since witnessed an unprecedented political and democratic reawakening. As the wave of democratisation continues to move across Africa, conflicts have almost become a by-product, where people, divided on ethnicity and/or religion, fight to establish their presence and dominance in government. One institution associated with the democratisation process and conflicts in Africa is the media. This article reviews some of the democratic processes that have taken place in Africa and the associated conflicts and the role the media have played in both. The article thus contributes to the literature on both democracy in Africa and its associated conflicts and the media’s role. It concludes that, whereas the media played key roles in some conflicts, they have played crucial roles in the promotion of democracy in Africa.

This study critically examines the role of political dialogue in Kenya's democratization process between 1990 and 2024, with a focus on how elite-led negotiations have shaped the country’s political landscape. While political dialogue is globally recognised as a mechanism for democratic governance and conflict resolution, Kenya’s experience reveals a pattern of performative engagement, where elite political actors utilise dialogue to share and consolidate power and deflect transformative institutional reforms. Anchored in Elite theory, the study adopts a qualitative research design that draws on a broad range of secondary sources to analyse the structure and outcomes of key dialogue processes. The study established that Kenya’s dialogic processes have largely been reactive, exclusionary, and designed to preserve elite interests under the guise of national unity and reforms. These dialogues have also undermined democratic institutions, marginalised civil society, and eroded citizen trust in democratic processes. The study findings contribute to broader debates on democratisation in Africa and call for a reorientation of political dialogue towards inclusive, transparent, and constitutionally anchored dialogue as a foundation for transformative democratic reforms

Abstract Traditionally, Botswana has enjoyed the illustrious reputation of being a beacon of democracy in Africa and beyond. This reputation has been attributed to the country’s political and economic stability, free and fair elections, and peaceful transitions of government. Until recently, Botswana’s electoral laws and processes were rarely ever the subject of judicial scrutiny. However, in the aftermath of the 2019 general elections, there was a spate of election petitions seeking to impugn the outcome of the elections. Furthermore, in the build up to the 2024 general elections, litigation challenging electoral laws and processes became commonplace. These cases ranged from demands by parties to be actively involved in observing voter registration for elections; objections to the appointment of Commissioners of the Independent Electoral Commission; and demands for electronic copies of the voters roll. Collectively, the cases highlight potential inadequacies in Botswana’s electoral laws. This paper analyses the case of Umbrella for Democratic Change and Others v Attorney General and Others (UDC v AG). Therein, 11 opposition parties sought to interdict Commissioners of the Independent Electoral Commission from discharging their duties pending a determination of the constitutionality of their appointment. The paper poses and answers the simple question whether the court got the decision wrong.

ABSTRACTThis qualitative research examines how far gender quotas lead to women's substantive representation in the Union Parishad in Bangladesh. To what extent and how do quota‐elected women members influence the decision‐making process in the Union Parishad to materialize policy outcomes for citizens, especially for women constituents in Bangladesh? Using a purposive sample, primary data were collected through semi‐structured and key informant interviews. This study contributes to the existing research on gender quotas and women's substantive representation in local‐level politics and yields mixed results. The findings suggest that, although most quota‐elected women members do not make a substantial contribution to masculine issues, including development projects and maintaining law and order, they have made significant contributions to feminine issues—including reducing violence against women and girls and combating sexual harassment and child marriage—in the Union Parishad. The patriarchal behavior of elected male chairpersons and members has barred quota‐elected women members to function effectively to argue for and distribute government resources (masculine interests) to their women constituents. The findings somewhat support the argument that numbers generally establish a necessary, but insufficient, condition to ensure greater consideration for women's interests in the legislative process.Related ArticlesBingham, N. 2016. “Fighting for Our Cause: The Impact of Women's NGOs on Gender Policy Adoption in Four Former Soviet Republics.” Politics & Policy 44, no. 2: 294–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12155.Hankivsky, O. 2013. “Gender Mainstreaming: A Five‐Country Examination.” Politics & Policy 41, no. 5: 629–655. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12037.Nchofoung, T., S. Asongu, V. Tchamyou, and O. Edoh. 2022. “Gender, Political Inclusion, and Democracy in Africa: Some Empirical Evidence.” Politics & Policy 51, no. 1: 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12505.

Despite over three decades of democratic transitions in Africa, sustainable democracy underpinned by issue-based politics remains elusive in many African countries. This qualitative case study of Ghana provides insights into the growing emphasis on issues rather than personalities in Ghana’s electoral politics. The study examines the shift towards issue-based politics through the 2016, 2020, and 2024 general elections. Utilizing qualitative content analysis of political party manifestos, social media discourse, and in-depth interviews with officials in Ghana’s two major political parties, we explore the extent to which substantive socio-political issues such as youth employment and job creation, funding for education and the strengthening of measures against corruption are shaping electoral campaigns and voter engagement in Ghana. Findings suggest a growing prioritization of issues and policies in political party discourse, indicating a possible shift toward more responsive and citizen-centered governance. The study contributes to the literature on electoral politics and democracy in Africa, highlighting pathways towards accountability and policy-oriented politics. This offers insights into the potential for issue-based political discourse to strengthen democratic consolidation.

Since Ghana's return to democratic rule in 1992, the West African country has recurrently been heralded as the model for democracy in Africa. Despite multiple controversies challenging core democratic institutions, Ghana's 2024 elections again represent a strong indicator of the country's democratic resilience. Combining our multi-disciplinary perspectives, we identify the key concerns that preoccupied Ghanaian voters in the lead-up to election day on 7 December 2024. We argue that there is a disconnect between campaign promises, such as the transition into a digital economy, and Ghanaians’ existential worries about the future. Concerns about both environmental and economic liveability equally informed the voter migration behind the 2024 election's unusually large margin of victory. Debates around the alignment of both flagbearers with Ghana's major religious groups, alongside Ghanaians’ rejection of the dismantling of democratic institutions, indicate that Ghana's new government will have to live up to voters’ demands for authenticity and accountability.

My life is roughly divided into three parts. The first part covers my formative years: birth a few years before Ghana's independence, elementary education in a tiny rural village, secondary school in a nearby town, and undergraduate studies at the University of Ghana, where my interest in politics and public affairs was nurtured. The second part concerns the expansion of my intellectual horizons. It begins with my doctoral studies in political science at the University of California, Davis. It continues with my return to Ghana in the mid-1980s, when it was under military rule, to teach, research, and write about African politics from inside the continent. It ends with my relocation to Washington, DC, where I was exposed to the world of think tanks. Part three deals with my return to Ghana in the late 1990s. I spent the time observing and documenting Africa's democratic transitions in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I also played a key role in the moment through two nonstate research and advocacy institutions—the Ghana Center for Democratic Development and Afrobarometer.

Abstract Ghana is often lauded as a success story of liberal democracy in Africa. However, the persistence of corruption, particularly political corruption, poses a significant obstacle to the gains of democratic success. The fight against corruption has not been left solely to the government. Under the umbrella of investigative journalism, the media and individual investigative journalists have bolstered efforts to combat corruption. However, reporting on corruption presents numerous barriers for investigative journalists in Ghana, with media ownership being a significant factor. Media ownership influences media outlets’ editorial independence and financial stability, affecting the extent and depth of investigative reporting. Drawing on media ownership theory, this study seeks to ascertain the challenges that investigative journalists face in reporting political corruption in Ghana. The article draws on qualitative research, including in-depth structured interviews, to provide insights into this social phenomenon. The findings reveal that funding problems, political interference, media ownership, access to information and death threats are the key challenges faced by investigative journalists in Ghana. The conclusion discusses the implications of these findings for urgent and relevant policy reform, underlining the pressing need for immediate action. This article contributes to the theoretical debate about the effectiveness of investigative journalism in combating corruption in Ghana.

ABSTRACTThe article poses and attempts to address the question of whether, how, and to what extent political democracy influences income distribution and, more broadly, economic inequality in current Western and comparable societies such as OECD countries. It first reviews the sociological and related literature concerning the relations between political democracy and economic inequality, including income and wealth distribution. Considering theoretical arguments and empirical observations, it then states hypotheses concerning the influence of political democracy on income distribution and specifies the data, methods, and variables of the empirical analysis. It presents the findings of empirical exploratory and regression analyses. Last, it discusses the findings and offers conclusions and directions for further research. The findings largely corroborate the hypotheses that political democracy inversely relates to, and negatively influences, income distribution by providing preliminary, suggestive, though not conclusive, definitive evidence for this.Related ArticlesAdegboye, A., K. Adegboye, U. Uwuigbe, et al. 2023. “Taxation, Democracy, and Inequality in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Relevant Linkages for Sustainable Development Goals.” Politics & Policy 51, no. 4: 696–722. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12547.Nchofoung, T., S. Asongu, V. Tchamyou, and O. Edoh. 2022. “Gender, Political Inclusion, and Democracy in Africa: Some Empirical Evidence.” Politics & Policy 51, no. 1: 137–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12505.Wang, Y. 2017. “Why Tax Policy Is Not Politics in China: Public Finance and China's Changing State‐Society Relations.” Politics & Policy 45, no. 2: 194–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12200.

ABSTRACT This article lifts a veil on democracy in Ghana to reveal how political elites have captured democratic processes and institutions to procure private wealth and political benefits. It does so by investigating why the Government of Ghana’s “war on galamsey” (2017–2024) against illegal small-scale gold mining and associated environmental degradation failed so spectacularly. Our explanation focuses on the complicity and involvement of politicians and government officials in the very illegal mining practices that they purport to oppose, as evidenced by various scandals. In turn, such exposés highlight a situation of “democracy capture” in which a political elite and associated business class has appropriated the benefits of state control, inclusive of enrichment from illegal mining with state protection. “Democracy capture” in Ghana is intertwined with the “monetisation” of electoral politics, requiring ever-increasing funds, including from illegal mining, to contest highly competitive elections. Characterizing Ghana’s polity as one of “democracy capture” exposes significant shortcomings in Ghana’s electoral democracy and tarnishes its reputation as a model democracy in Africa.

The article examines the activities of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) in Egypt during 2011–2012 as an example of the participation of international and supranational structures in supporting the processes of democratization and political modernization of North African countries to ensure security and stability in the region during and after the revolutionary events of the Arab Spring. The purpose of the work is to determine the role of EISA in the transition of power carried out in the Egyptian state through electoral processes in the designated chronological period. Based on the results of the study, it is recorded that the Institute's field office in Cairo was engaged in organizational and analytical accompaniment aimed at ensuring the transparency and fairness of the ongoing parliamentary and presidential elections, as well as the constitutional referendum. The results of this activity were used, among other things, for making political decisions on the part of the African Union and the structures it supervises regarding Egypt and the processes of transition of power taking place in it.

ABSTRACT While the fading of democratic legitimacy is widely discussed in the academic literature, the genre is concerned primarily with the backsliding of liberal democracy in Western countries. The articles making up this special issue add to this conversation by exploring the topic in the African context. This introduction offers the reader a panoramic view of the collection as a whole. It first presents the nine countries of interest, explaining the reasons for their selection and the topics the various authors pursue. It then goes on to the theme of democracy in general and democracy in Africa in particular. The concept of legitimacy and its various types receives attention next, with a snapshot of factors contributing to the erosion of democratic legitimacy on the continent.

ABSTRACT The article looks at the influence of social media disinformation campaigns on voter behaviour in the national elections in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa in the period 2017–2023. By examining the various communication efforts, propaganda and political marketing, the article shows how the digital revolution – with the help of such tools as artificial intelligence, algorithms, deepfakes and bots – has amplified the potential for disinformation to an unprecedented degree. By comparing three African countries in their respectively distinct stages of democratic consolidation, the article sheds light on how disinformation techniques impact the democratic fabric of these nations and to what extent disinformation influences voter attitudes, choices and overall electoral outcomes in the three countries.

ABSTRACT With three peaceful transfers of power since the early 1990s and a well-established commitment to electoral politics among the country’s elite, Zambia is often held up as a model of democracy in Africa. What has not been carefully examined are its experiential sources of legitimacy of democracy. This article identifies five factors that explain it: competitive elections alongside a depoliticised military; vibrant political parties able to mobilise support, participate in elections, and occasionally win power; a robust civil society capable of checking the power of the government and forcing presidents to compromise; effective independent media outlets that serve as crucial platforms for accountability; and a liberal constitution that protects democratic rights. The article provides an analysis of these determining sources – which are used here as an analytical tool rather than a model establishing causation – by showing how they have played out in practice between 1991 and 2021.

One of the major challenges confronting democracies in Africa is political control of the military especially in the face of palpable socio-economic and political tensions which have the capacity to ignite military intervention. Internal military variables on the one hand and political decay in the form of social violence and corruption, on the other, occupy the literature as causal factors for military incursion in the politics of most African states. What then should be done by Nigerian political leaders to avert these push factors that cause military intervention so democracy would thrive seamlessly in our polity. By adopting the qualitative research design, this study utilized secondary sources as data gathering instrument to investigate the factor of military intervention in politics and the steps taken by successive political leaders in Nigeria (1999-2024), to keep the soldiers away from politics. The study found that some of the issues that trigger military interest in politics namely social tension, political violence and corruption, were still plaguing the nation even as the various democratic regimes were doing their best to placate the military hierarchy with mouth watering welfare packages, professional training programmes and hardware infrastructure. It is therefore recommended that the political class in Nigeria should take urgent steps to stem the persistent recurrence of social pressures, political tensions and corruption so as to strike a balance between government’s concern for military welfare and the delivery of democratic dividends to the electorate. This, no doubt would guarantee permanent and fool proof political control of the military for all time stability of the nation’s democracy.

Human rights violence during armed conflict is no longer a novel incidence in Africa. It has become an evil consequence of any armed conflict though more pronounced in Africa. Violation of human rights during election process is however what appears indignant and abnormal for any democratic regime that is emerging. Every election year in African nations records casualties of human rights violations before, during and after electoral process. What is responsible for this ill in Africa and what implication does violation of rights in election process portend for African nations? Relying on findings made from pragmatic researches done by way of doctrinal and quantitative analysis, this paper addresses the situation of violence recorded about human rights during election period, discuss the multiplier effects it has on any growing democracy in Africa and provides useful recommendations. It further examines the role of some of the entities whose activities results in violation of the rights of the citizens during electoral process, its implication for a growing democracy. It concludes by providing a useful guide for a holistic law reform of the substantive law on crime as well as laws establishing the relevant law enforcement agencies in Africa

For over three decades, military coups were largely seen as relics of Africa’s past, with democratic governance becoming the preferred system for addressing the continent’s complex socio-economic challenges. However, recent years have witnessed a resurgence of military takeovers in countries such as Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Sudan, Niger, and Gabon. This study investigates theimplications of these developments on constitutional democracy in Africa. Framed within the Restoration of Order and Revolutionary Perspectives, the study utilizes both primary data collected through interviews with key informants and secondary sources from existing literature. Findings reveal a strong connection between France’s neo-colonial influence and the re-emergence of coupsin its former colonies. Persistent leadership failures, largely due to external manipulation, have hindered socio-economic progress. Additionally, widespread poverty, poor infrastructure, mass unemployment, and the failure to conduct free and fair elections have fueled public discontent, creating fertile ground for military interventions. The study recommends that France ends its overbearing influence, and that African leaders foster democratic inclusivity, reject the sit-tight syndrome, and prioritize governance that addresses poverty, inequality, and development challenges to prevent further democratic backsliding.

Abstract Afro-communitarian thinkers have often pointed to consensual democracy as a valuable feature of traditional African societies. African philosophers, including Kwasi Wiredu and Bernard Matolino, have drawn attention to this pattern of political arrangement to consider what the political practice means for modern African politics. While Wiredu praissed consensual democracy and sought to explore how it could be relevant for contemporary African democratic development, Matolino finds it undesirable. In the book Consensus as Democracy in Africa, Matolino identifies several significant concerns with the theoretical and practical feasibility of consensual democracy, such as the concern with individual freedom. He rejects consensus as a viable democratic theory for modern African politics. In this article, I respond to Matolino's objection. My responses demonstrate a persuasion for a consensus-imbued majoritarian model of governance. While noting that consensus is conceptually reconcilable with party politics, I argue that a consensual orientation allows for expanded freedom of association that helps check abuse of party-political loyalty.

Recent developments in some West African countries are a classic case of reversal of democratic rule and have raised doubts about the feasibility of democracy in Africa. This study examines the factors that have led to the resurgence of coups d'état and the possibility of constructing a new typology of coups d'état and military rule in 21st century Africa. Documented data sources were used for the study and the method of analysis was content analysis. The study compared the nature and characteristics of recent coups with those of the past and the predominant causes. The study made an attempt to identify the gap in the theories by examining the various theories on military interventions, postulating an alternative theory that can better explain the current phenomenon different from those of the 1980s. The study is an early warning that military rule could re-emerge in West Africa and Africa.

In his book, Territory and democratic politics: A critical introduction (2024), Oscar Mazzoleni reflects upon territory, and the outcome this notion creates. He pushes back against the trend of "deterritorialization" in social sciences and underlines a need for a correct understanding of territory for management of late modernity issues inclusive of citizenship, nationalism and migration. Mazzoleni further opined that ‘territory can hardly be understood as an area or a geographical space but it is an aspect of identities and politics’. Within this context, by dwelling on the territory/identity/power connection, Mazzoleni offers valuable insights into most of the problems that affect democracies today. This review contextualizes and refines Mazzoleni’s work through a lens by addressing fundamental issues related to the African context. The purpose of this article is to deconstruct the arduous nature of the land and the dynamics of democratization in Africa, which still lags in responding to the challenges of decolonization, not to mention the colonial invention of borders and nations.