Democratization in Africa : Progress and Retreat

by Diamond, Larry Jay; Plattner, Marc F.

• ISBN13: 9780801894848
• ISBN10: 0801894840
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-03
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

At a time when democracy seems to be in retreat in many parts of the world, Africa presents a more mixed picture. A number of African countries have been convulsed by high-profile crises, while others have quietly continued making progress on the difficult path toward democratic stability.Democratization in Africa: Progress and Retreat brings into focus the complex landscape of African politics by pairing broad analytical surveys with country-specific case studies -- most previously published in the Journal of Democracy and all written by prominent Africanists with deep knowledge of the continent and their subject countries.Thematic chapters address some of the major forces working for and against African democracy: the phenomenon of "frontier Africa"; presidentialism; the rise of independent legislatures; the rule of law versus the "big man"; the institutionalization of political power; the decline of military coups; the paradox of growth without prosperity; and the roles of formal and informal institutions. Countries examined include Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.Democratization in Africa: Progress and Retreat is an essential primer for students of African politics and those interested in the future of democracy around the world.Contributors: Kate Baldwin, Joel D. Barkan, Michael Bratton, Michael Chege, John F. Clark, Larry Diamond, Steven Friedman, Kenneth Good, E. Gyimah-Boadi, Barak Hoffman, Richard Joseph, Seth Kaplan, Maina Kiai, Peter Lewis, Eldred Masunungure, Penda Mbow, Andrew M. Mwenda, Dave Peterson, Daniel N. Posner, H. Kwasi Prempeh, Lindsay Robinson, Paula Roque, Rotimi T. Suberu, Herbert F. Weiss, Christopher Wyrod, Daniel J. Young

Author Biography

Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, where he also directs the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Marc F. Plattner is vice president for research and studies at the National Endowment for Democracy, where he directs the International Forum for Democratic Studies. They serve as coeditors of the Journal of Democracy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. ix
Progress and Retreat in Africa
Challenges of a "Frontier" Region	p. 3
Presidents Untamed	p. 18
Legislatures on the Rise?	p. 33
The Rule of Law versus the Big Man	p. 47
The Institutionalization of Political Power in Africa	p. 59
The Decline of the African Military Coup	p. 73
Growth Without Prosperity in Africa	p. 88
Formal versus Informal Institutions in Africa	p. 103
West Africa
Nigeria's Muddled Elections	p. 121
Another Step Forward for Ghana	p. 137
Senegal: The Return of Personalism	p. 152
Sierra Leone: A Vote for Better Governance	p. 166
Liberia Starts Over	p. 179
East Africa
Kenya: Back from the Brink?	p. 197
The Crisis in Kenya	p. 212
Tanzania's Missing Opposition	p. 219
Personalizing Power in Uganda	p. 233
The Remarkable Story of Somaliland	p. 248
Southern and Central Africa
An Accidental Advance? South Africa's 2009 Elections	p. 265
The Illusion of Democracy in Botswana	p. 280
Zambia: One Party in Perpetuity?	p. 295
Voting for Change in the DRC	p. 310
Angola's Façade Democracy	p. 324
Zimbabwe's Long Agony	p. 338
Index	p. 353
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