Democracy and Elections in Africa

Contents

Contents List of Tables and Figures ix Preface xi 1 INTRODUCTION 1 The Role of Elections Why Africa? On Regimes On Elections and Democracy Preindependence and Postindependence Elections in African Nations Contemporary Africa’s Track Record Outline of the Book 2 ON DEMOCRACY AND ELECTIONS 21 Making a Conceptual Choice Defining Democracy Operationalizing Democratic Qualities of Elections Data Collection and Processing 3 ELECTIONS IN AFRICA OVER TIME 52 Frequency and Number of Elections The Democratic Qualities, on Average Democratic Qualities of Elections over Time Conclusions 4 THE SELF-REINFORCING POWER OF ELECTIONS 71 Going from Bad to Worse First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Later Elections A Panel-Group Comparison Conclusions 5 THE CAUSAL EFFECTS OF ELECTIONS 99 Democratic Qualities in Society A Missing Factor of Democratization Hypotheses and Causal Links 6 DEMOCRATIZATION BY ELECTIONS? 119 Elections Are Associated with Civil Liberties Analyzing by Countries Conclusions 7 COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES AND REFLECTIONS 143 The Transition Paradigm Corruption and Democratization Stateness and Social Citizenship Lessons on Consolidation Policy Implications The Power of Elections in Unfavorable Conditions Appendix 1. Overview of Elections in Africa, by Year 163 Appendix 2. Changes in Civil Liberties Rankings 166 Appendix 3. About the Freedom House Civil Liberties Index 171 Appendix 4. A Data Set on Elections in Africa 174 Notes 195 References 203 Index 223 viii c o n t e n t s ...