Read complete books and articles on: Democracy and Africa

At Questia, we offer:

Exclusive access to more than 67,000 books and 1.5 million articles.
Trusted resources from leading publishers.
Time saving tools to do better, faster research!

16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Democracy and Africa

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Democracy and Development in Africa » Read Now
by Claude Ake. 174 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

Despite three decades of preoccupation with development in Africa, the economies of most African nations are still stagnating or regressing. For most Africans, incomes are lower than they were two decades ago, health prospects are poorer, malnutrition is widespread, and infrastructures and social...
Read More

Despite three decades of preoccupation with development in Africa, the economies of most African nations are still stagnating or regressing. For most Africans, incomes are lower than they were two decades ago, health prospects are poorer, malnutrition is widespread, and infrastructures and social institutions are breaking down. An array of factors has been suggested to explain the apparent failure of development in Africa, including colonial legacy, social pluralism, corruption, poor planning and incompetent management, limited inflow of foreign capital, and low levels of saving and investment. Alone or in combination, these factors are serious impediments to development, but Claude Ake contends that the problem is not that development has failed, but that it was never really on the agenda. He maintains that political conditions in Africa are the greatest impediment to development. In this book, Ake traces the evolution and failure of development policies, including the IMF stabilization programsthat have dominated international efforts. He believes that the authoritarian structure the African states inherited from colonial rule created a political environment that was hostile to development. Ake sketches the alternatives that are struggling to emerge from calamitous failure - economic development based on traditional agriculture, political development based on decentralization of power, and reliance on indigenous communities that have been providing some measure of refuge from the coercive power of the central state. Ake's argument may become a new paradigm for development in Africa.
Show less
2.

Democracy in Africa: The Hard Road Ahead » Read Now
by Marina Ottaway. 176 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
3.

Democracy and Socialism in Africa » Read Now
by Robin Cohen, Harry Goulbourne. 272 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
4.

African Democratization and Military Coups » Read Now
by Chuka Onwumechili. 124 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...The many faces of Africa: democracy across a varied continent...come. What is the true state of African democracy? And what is its future? Governance...Realists The current...
5.

State Building and Democratization in Africa: Faith, Hope, and Realities » Read Now
by Kidane Mengisteab, Cyril Daddieh. 295 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

State building and democratization in Africa rarely attract the attention they deserve. Few have grappled with the relationship between state building (nation-building) and democratic experiments in Africa. This collection consciously corrects this shortcoming in African political studies. Among the...
Read More

State building and democratization in Africa rarely attract the attention they deserve. Few have grappled with the relationship between state building (nation-building) and democratic experiments in Africa. This collection consciously corrects this shortcoming in African political studies. Among the issues raised: Does democracy facilitate state building or does it exacerbate ethnic conflicts? Are certain modalities of democratization more likely to facilitate state-building than others? Has the era of democracy created the need for new state building strategies? Does the objective of state building require signficant modifications in the essence and form of democracy?
Show less
6.

Democratization in Africa: The Theory and Dynamics of Political Transitions » Read Now
by Earl Conteh-Morgan. 200 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

In this stimulating and carefully researched study, Conteh-Morgan offers a multidimensional look at the political economy of African states. While many books focus on explanations of the processes and outcomes of political transitions, this work demonstrates a deeper understanding of democratization...
Read More

In this stimulating and carefully researched study, Conteh-Morgan offers a multidimensional look at the political economy of African states. While many books focus on explanations of the processes and outcomes of political transitions, this work demonstrates a deeper understanding of democratization by combining macro and micro issues and actors, and historical and contemporary dynamics, into a theoretical framework that underscores anomalies, dilemmas, and paradoxes in the political transformation of Africa. Offering one of the first detailed and balanced evaluations of democratization, Conteh-Morgan breaks new ground by providing thought provoking insights into political transitions in developing countries. The work will be of interest to scholars in comparative politics, development studies, and African studies.
Show less
7.

Democratization and the Protection of Human Rights in Africa: Problems and Prospects » Read Now
by Brendalyn P. Ambrose. 220 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

Development was achieved in the West by capitalism and industrialization before liberal democracy was introduced as a viable form of government. Africa is grappling with the problems of underdevelopment. Yet, the West insists on liberal democracy for Africa, a form of government which has no...
Read More

Development was achieved in the West by capitalism and industrialization before liberal democracy was introduced as a viable form of government. Africa is grappling with the problems of underdevelopment. Yet, the West insists on liberal democracy for Africa, a form of government which has no economic and social foundations in Africa. The West now faults the African people for not being able to establish and sustain democratic institutions. Ambrose, an African development practitioner who, recently returning from the continent after three intense years of fact-finding, research, and consultation, argues that the solution to Africa's problems does not lie in externally imposed liberal institutions shored up by top-down bureaucracy that most often is ignorant, unresponsive, or outright hostile to the needs of the impoverished majority. Her investigations lead her to believe that the solution for Africa lies in a collective approach based on empowerment of the masses and economic reforms.
Show less
8.

Politics of Constitutional Reforms and Democratization in Africa, in International Journal of Comparative Sociology » Read Now
by Julius O. Ihonvbere. 17 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...and good governance! Democracy and Constitutionalism in Africa Now that the euphoria...constitutionalism: An African Debate on Democracy, edited by Issa G...
9.

Elections in Independent Africa » Read Now
by Fred M. Hayward. 318 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
10.

Institutions and Reform in Africa: The Public Choice Perspective » Read Now
by John Mukum Mbaku, Gordon Tullock. 286 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

The end of the Cold War, the cessation of superpower rivalry, and the demise of apartheid in South Africa have offered Africans another opportunity to engage in effective institutional reform and state reconstruction. This book emphasizes the importance of institutions to economic growth and...
Read More

The end of the Cold War, the cessation of superpower rivalry, and the demise of apartheid in South Africa have offered Africans another opportunity to engage in effective institutional reform and state reconstruction. This book emphasizes the importance of institutions to economic growth and development and, using public choice theory, provides guidelines that can be used to initiate and implement an effective people-driven institutional reform program on the continent.
Show less
11.

Electoral Systems and Democratization in Southern Africa » Read Now
by Andrew Reynolds. 348 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

The design of electoral systems and executive types is increasingly being recognized the key lever of constitutional engineering to be applied in the interests of political accommodation and stability in ethnically divided societies. In this groundbreaking comparative study of democratic design in...
Read More

The design of electoral systems and executive types is increasingly being recognized the key lever of constitutional engineering to be applied in the interests of political accommodation and stability in ethnically divided societies. In this groundbreaking comparative study of democratic design in Southern Africa, Andrew Reynolds finds that the decisions about how to constitute representative parliaments have wide ranging effects on the type of parties and party system that develops, the nature of executive-legislative relations, and the inclusiveness of both majority and minority interests in the process of governance. While electoral system design is the primary focus of the book, the related constitutional issues of whether to choose a presidential or parliamentary system, and whether to entrench consensual, consociational or majoritarian government are also discussed. Analysing the experiences of Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the author presents a host of revealing conclusions that help shed light on the success or failure of democratic design in other fledgling democracies, in both Africa and beyond.
Show less
12.

Democracy in Africa?, in Africa » Read Now
by Tom Young. 13 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Democracy in Africa? by Tom Young M...liberal persuasion were writing about democracy in Africa in tones of wonder: it was a second...consumption and largely against pro-...
13.

Africa and the Search for Democracy, in Contemporary Review » Read Now
by Abiodun Onadipe. 8 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...and the search for democracy. by Abiodun Onadipe Africa today, forty years...The move towards democracy in Africa is currently suffering...had granted west African...
14.

Political Reform in Francophone Africa » Read Now
by John F. Clark, David E. Gardinier. 318 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This volume explores the origins and evolution of political reform movements in several states of French speaking Africa. The authors look at the distinctiveness of Francophone Africa and survey the challenges of reform.
15.

Democratic Local Government and Responsiveness: Lessons from Zimbabwe and Tanzania, in International Journal of Comparative Sociology » Read Now
by Arild Schou. 23 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...reforms in many African countries. One such...introducing local democracy was that it would...are weak in rural Africa. This means that...well functioning democracy in both...
16.

Citizenship Challenges for South Africa's Young Democracy, in Daedalus » Read Now
by Mamphela Ramphele. 17 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Citizenship Challenges for South Africas Young Democracy. by Mamphela Ramphele...the challenges facing South Africas young democracy. The "liberal vision of...The...