Democracy, Good Governance and Development in Africa

Democracy, Good Governance and Development in Africa
Author: Mawere, Munyaradzi
Publisher: Langaa RPCIG
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2015-10-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9956763004

Questions surrounding democracy, governance, and development especially in the view of Africa have provoked acrimonious debates in the past few years. It remains a perennial question why some decades after political independence in Africa the continent continues experiencing bad governance, lagging behind socioeconomically, and its democracy questionable. We admit that a plethora of theories and reasons, including iniquitous and malicious ones, have been conjured in an attempt to explain and answer the questions as to why Africa seems to be lagging behind other continents in issues pertaining to good governance, democracy and socio-economic development. Yet, none of the theories and reasons proffered so far seems to have provided enduring solutions to Africa’s diverse complex problems and predicaments. This book dissects and critically examines the matrix of Africa’s multifaceted problems on governance, democracy and development in an attempt to proffer enduring solutions to the continent’s long-standing political and socio-economic dilemmas and setbacks.

Institutions and Democracy in Africa

Institutions and Democracy in Africa
Author: Nic Cheeseman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2018-02-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107148243

Offers new research on the vital importance of institutions, such as presidential term-limits in the African democratisation processes.

Democracy in Africa

Democracy in Africa
Author: Nic Cheeseman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2015-05-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1316239489

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.

Ethnicity & Democracy in Africa

Ethnicity & Democracy in Africa
Author: Bruce Berman
Publisher: James Currey Publishers
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2004
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780821415702

A useful collection for students as the interest in the politics of ethnicity continues.

Democratization in Africa

Democratization in Africa
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 94
Release: 1992-02-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309047978

The global movement toward democracy, spurred in part by the ending of the cold war, has created opportunities for democratization not only in Europe and the former Soviet Union, but also in Africa. This book is based on workshops held in Benin, Ethiopia, and Namibia to better understand the dynamics of contemporary democratic movements in Africa. Key issues in the democratization process range from its institutional and political requirements to specific problems such as ethnic conflict, corruption, and role of donors in promoting democracy. By focusing on the opinion and views of African intellectuals, academics, writers, and political activists and observers, the book provides a unique perspective regarding the dynamics and problems of democratization in Africa.

Post-Conflict Institutional Design

Post-Conflict Institutional Design
Author: Abu Bakarr Bah
Publisher: Zed Books
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2021-08-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781786998019

Since gaining independence from colonial rule, most African countries have been struggling to build democratic and peaceful states. While African multiparty politics may be viewed as a democratic system of governance, in reality it is plagued by ethnic and regional political grievances that undermine meaningful democracy. By examining post-conflict institutional reforms in several African countries, this book sheds light on the common causes of violent conflicts and how institutional design can affect the conditions for peace and democracy in Africa. Focussing on conceptual and practical questions of designing ethnically and regionally inclusive state institutions and the way institutions are perceived by the citizenry Post-Conflict Institutional Design addresses political autonomy and control over resources, issues which are often key sources of ethnic and regional grievances. Crucially, it examines the meanings of institutional reforms as well ethnic and regional representation.

Constitutions and Conflict Management in Africa

Constitutions and Conflict Management in Africa
Author: Alan J. Kuperman
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2015-07-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0812246586

Presenting the first database of constitutional design in all African countries, and seven original case studies, Constitutions and Conflict Management in Africa explores the types of domestic political institutions that can buffer societies from destabilizing changes that otherwise increase the risk of violence.

Democracy and Institutions

Democracy and Institutions
Author: Markus M. L. Crepaz
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2000-06-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780472111268

How institutional engineering affects the life of democracies

One-party Dominance in African Democracies

One-party Dominance in African Democracies
Author: Renske Doorenspleet
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Pub
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2013
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781588268693

Is the dominance of one political party a problem in an emerging democracy, or simply an expression of the will of the people? Why has one-party dominance endured in some African democracies and not in others? What are the mechanisms behind the varying party-system trajectories? Considering these questions, the authors of this collaborative work use a rigorous comparative research design and rich case material to greatly enhance our understanding of one of the key issues confronting emerging democracies in sub-Saharan Africa.