Leadership and the Problem of Electoral Democracy in Africa: Case Studies and Theoretical Solutions by E. Ike Udogu (review)

Leadership and the Problem of Electoral Democracy in Africa: Case Studies and Theoretical Solutions is authored by Appalachian State University Professor E. Ike Udogu. This book consists of a preface, acknowledgments, a list of acronyms-cum-abbreviations, eight chapters, and an extensive bibliography and subject index.

Udogu's current book—which is very much like his other works¹—aims at challenging scholars and practitioners interested in Africa's renaissance in this century. Part of the challenge is for the group to focus their research outputs on solutions relating to Africa's political problems, especially the continent's leadership quagmire, in order for Africa to be successful enough to claim the twenty-first century as her own.

Chapters one, "General Introduction," and two, "Leadership Crisis in Africa: An Overview," provide the superstructure for this well-researched, fine book. Chapter one draws readers' attention not only to the criticality of good leadership in the governance of a society, but also to the extent to which efficient leaders conduct legitimate polls or elections. It highlights a peculiar symbiosis between leaders and elections that promotes political stability and development: good leaders produce legitimate elections, and free and fair elections produce leaders with national legitimacy.

The thrust of this chapter and the book itself dovetail in a passage articulated by Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State,² when she noted in a communiqué issued in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:

Creating the conditions that allow people and communities to flourish in democracy cannot simply be a matter of holding elections; they are a necessary but not sufficient condition. Good governance requires free, fair, and transparent elections, a free media, independent judiciaries, and the protection of minorities. And democracy must also deliver results for people by providing economic opportunity, jobs, and a rising standard for living.

(p. 1)

Chapter two provides the theoretical underpinning from which this text can be visualized. Succinctly, it brings to the limelight the rationales of the problematique that African countries are confronted with in their governance techniques—and the issues that arise as a consequence of the methods of their political captainship. To be sure, the exposure of African leaders to the East and the West and their contrasting politico-economic systems has influenced the political psychology and philosophy of African leaders on how they should govern their societies (pp. 17–25). This chapter goes a long way toward drawing a reader's thoughts to the question of leadership and corruption, noting that underdevelopment in one of the world's richest continents—Africa—is partly due to poor leadership (p. 29). Interestingly, bad leadership has as well become a cliché popularized by African leaders themselves, who proclaim it as the major cause of African social, political, and economic crisis and malaise (p. 2). Refreshingly, Udogu reproduces the African Union's comprehensive template for combating corruption (pp. 31–41) in a bid to remind lawmakers of their commitments to kill corruption.

In chapters three through seven, Udogu shines his light on such thematic topics as the crisis of electoral democracy in Egypt, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Uganda, and Angola as case studies. Here, he traces the histories of these societies in brief before narrating the crisis of leadership and electoral democracy in each. Each of these chapters shows how remarkably the leadership in these countries manipulated the electoral outcomes in their societies. And besides rich stories and discourses on the character of the electoral contestations, Udogu provides tables showing the votes won by candidates and parties in order to expose the depth of electoral malfeasance and shenanigans. These malpractices frequently created crises of political legitimacy—and in some cases, civil wars. Even so, Udogu cites some useful solutions of his own and others that could ameliorate electoral manipulation and mischief in future elections (pp. 182–184).

In chapter eight, "Applying Colin Powell's and Abraham...