Why Do Elections Matter in Africa?

Why Do Elections Matter in Africa? PDF Author: Nic Cheeseman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110841723X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
A radical new approach to understanding Africa's elections: explaining why politicians, bureaucrats and voters so frequently break electoral rules.

Why Do Elections Matter in Africa?

Why Do Elections Matter in Africa? PDF Author: Nic Cheeseman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110841723X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
A radical new approach to understanding Africa's elections: explaining why politicians, bureaucrats and voters so frequently break electoral rules.

Democracy in Africa

Democracy in Africa PDF Author: Nic Cheeseman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316239489
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This book provides the first comprehensive overview of the history of democracy in Africa and explains why the continent's democratic experiments have so often failed, as well as how they could succeed. Nic Cheeseman grapples with some of the most important questions facing Africa and democracy today, including whether international actors should try and promote democracy abroad, how to design political systems that manage ethnic diversity, and why democratic governments often make bad policy decisions. Beginning in the colonial period with the introduction of multi-party elections and ending in 2013 with the collapse of democracy in Mali and South Sudan, the book describes the rise of authoritarian states in the 1970s; the attempts of trade unions and some religious groups to check the abuse of power in the 1980s; the remarkable return of multiparty politics in the 1990s; and finally, the tragic tendency for elections to exacerbate corruption and violence.

The Moral Economy of Elections in Africa

The Moral Economy of Elections in Africa PDF Author: Nic Cheeseman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108265839
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
Do elections turn people into democratic citizens? Elections have long been seen as a way to foster democracy, development and security in Africa, with many hoping that the secret ballot would transform states. Adopting a new approach that focusses on the moral economy of elections, Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch and Justin Willis show how elections are shaped by competing visions of what it means to be a good leader, bureaucrat or citizen. Using a mixed-methods study of elections in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, they explore moral claims made by officials, politicians, civil society, international observers and voters themselves. This radical new lens reveals that elections are the site of intense moral contestation, which helps to explain why there is such vigourous participation in processes that often seem flawed. Demonstrating the impact of these debates on six decades of electoral practice, they explain why the behaviour of those involved so frequently transgresses national law and international norms, as well as the ways in which such transgressions are evaluated and critiqued – so that despite the purported significance of 'vote-buying', the candidates that spend the most do not always win.

The Moral Economies of Ethnic and Nationalist Claims

The Moral Economies of Ethnic and Nationalist Claims PDF Author: Bruce J. Berman
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774833173
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Bringing together international experts on ethnicity and nationalism, this book argues that competing moral economies play an important role in ethnic and nationalist conflict. Its authors investigate how the beliefs and practices that normatively regulate and legitimize the distribution of wealth, power, and status in a society – moral economies – are being challenged in identity-based communities in ways that precipitate or exacerbate conflicts. The combination of theoretical chapters and case studies ranging from Africa and Asia to North America provides compelling evidence for the value of moral economy analysis in understanding problems associated with ethnic and nationalist mobilization and conflict.

Morality and Politics: Volume 21, Part 1

Morality and Politics: Volume 21, Part 1 PDF Author: Ellen Frankel Paul
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521542210
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
Divisions abound as to whether politics should be held responsible to a higher moral standard or whether pragmatic considerations, or realpolitik, should prevail. The two poles are represented most conspicuously by Aristotle (for whom the proper aim of politics is moral virtue) and Machiavelli (whose prince exalted political pragmatism over morality). The fourteen contributions to this volume address perennial concerns in political and moral theory. They underscore the rekindled yearning of many to hold the political realm to a higher standard despite the skepticism of dissenters who question the likelihood, or even the desirability, of success.

Electoral Politics in Africa since 1990

Electoral Politics in Africa since 1990 PDF Author: Jaimie Bleck
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108680623
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Democratic transitions in the early 1990s introduced a sea change in Sub-Saharan African politics. Between 1990 and 2015, several hundred competitive legislative and presidential elections were held in all but a handful of the region's countries. This book is the first comprehensive comparative analysis of the key issues, actors, and trends in these elections over the last quarter century. The book asks: what motivates African citizens to vote? What issues do candidates campaign on? How has the turn to regular elections promoted greater democracy? Has regular electoral competition made a difference for the welfare of citizens? The authors argue that regular elections have both caused significant changes in African politics and been influenced in turn by a rapidly changing continent - even if few of the political systems that now convene elections can be considered democratic, and even if many old features of African politics persist.

Growing Democracy in Africa

Growing Democracy in Africa PDF Author: Muna Ndulo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781443885478
Category : Africa south of Sahara
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Revisiting the Study of Governance / Göran Hyden -- Democratisation in Africa : Achievements and Agenda / Mamoudou Gazibo -- The Expansion of Judicial Power in Africa and Democratic Consolidation : Opportunities, Challenges and Future Prospects / Charles M. Fombad -- Constitution-Making in Anglophone Africa : We the People? / Coel Kirkby and Christina Murray -- Measuring the Persuasive Effects of Electoral Campaigns in Africa / Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz -- Subnational Elections and Accountability : A Study of Political Decentralization and Democratic Governance / Rachel Beatty Riedl and J. Tyler Dickovick -- Slippery Citizenship : Nationalism, Democracy and the State in Africa / Jennifer Riggan -- Federal Developments and Accountable Government Structures in East Africa / Jan Amilcar Schmidt -- Hereditary Rule in Democratic Africa : Reconciling Citizens and Chiefs / Kate Baldwin -- Critical Reflections on Social Accountability and Local Government in Ghana / Cyril K. Daddieh -- "Emerging" Africa : Long-term Perspectives on Growth and Democracy / Antoinette Handley -- A Legal Framework for Combating Corruption : Case Study from Zambia / Muna Ndulo -- Two-and-a-Half Cheers for Democracy in Africa / Nicolas van de Walle.

How Autocrats Compete

How Autocrats Compete PDF Author: Yonatan L. Morse
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108677916
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
Most autocrats now hold unfair elections, yet how they compete in them and manipulate them differs greatly. How Autocrats Compete advances a theory that explains variation in electoral authoritarian competition. Using case studies of Tanzania, Cameroon, and Kenya, along with broader comparisons from Africa, it finds that the kind of relationships autocrats foster with supporters and external actors matters greatly during elections. When autocrats can depend on credible ruling parties that provide elites with a level playing field and commit to wider constituencies, they are more certain in their own support and can compete in elections with less manipulation. Shelter from international pressure further helps autocrats deploy a wider range of coercive tools when necessary. Combining in-depth field research, within-case statistics, and cross-regional comparisons, Morse fills a gap in the literature by focusing on important variation in authoritarian institution building and international patronage. Understanding how autocrats compete sheds light on the comparative resilience and durability of modern authoritarianism.

Africa's Critical Choices

Africa's Critical Choices PDF Author: Dunod Editeur
Publisher: Europa Regional Perspectives
ISBN: 9780367150518
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
This volume examines contemporary Africa, a vast continent which, while entering the era of globalization, is also confronted by a number of issues, including the environment and climate change, demographics, trade issues, internal and external migration, education, economic Issues, governance, and the influence of other countries. Written by former Prime Minister of Niger and current Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, this book offers an overview of Africa, and looks to the next generation of leaders in the continent, aiming to offer a manifesto for future change.

Is the Market Moral?

Is the Market Moral? PDF Author: Rebecca M. Blank
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0815796285
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
In the great tradition of moral argument about the nature of the economic market, Rebecca Blank and William McGurn join to debate the fundamental questions—equality and efficiency, productivity and social justice, individual achievement and personal rights in the workplace, and the costs and benefits of corporate and entrepreneurial capitalism. Their arguments are grounded in both economic sophistication and religious commitment. Rebecca Blank is an economist by training and describes herself as "culturally Protestant in the habits of mind and heart." She has also chaired the committee that wrote the statement on Christian faith and economic life adopted by the United Church of Christ. Addressing market failure, for her, requires that sometimes "freedom to choose" give way to other human values. William McGurn, a journalist and a Roman Catholic, uses his expertise in economics to reflect on the teachings of the church concerning the morality of the market. For McGurn, humans reach their fullest potential when they are free from the constraints of others. He writes that "our quarrel is not so much with Adam Smith or Milton Friedman but with the Providence that so clearly designed man to be his most prosperous at his most free." This book grapples with the new imperatives of a global economy while working in the classic tradition of political economy which always treated seriously the questions of morality, justice, productivity, and freedom.