Download or read book Routledge Handbook of African Politics written by Nic Cheeseman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 573 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing a comprehensive and cutting edge examination of this important continent, Routledge Handbook of African Politics surveys the key debates and controversies, dealing with each of the major issues to be found in Africa?s politics today. Structured into 6 broad areas, the handbook features over 30 contributions focused around:The State Identity Conflict Democracy and Electoral Politics Political Economy & Development International Relations Each chapter deals with a specific topic, providing an overview of the main arguments and theories and explaining the empirical evidence that they are based on, drawing on high-profile cases such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. The Handbook also contains new contributions on a wide range of topical issues, including terrorism, the growing influence of China, civil war, and transitional justice, making it required reading for non-specialists and experts alike. Featuring both established scholars and emerging researchers, this is a vital resource for all students of African Studies, democratization, conflict resolution and Third World politics.

Download or read book Issues in Ghana s Electoral Politics written by Ninsin, Kwame A. and published by CODESRIA. This book was released on 2017-05-05 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ghana attained independence in 1957. From 1992, when a new constitution came into force and established a new – democratic – framework for governing the country, elections have been organized every four years to choose the governing elites. The essays in this volume are about those elections because elections give meaning to the role of citizens in democratic governance. The chapters depart from the study of formal structures by which the electorate choose their representatives. They evaluate the institutional forms that representation take in the Ghanaian context, and study elections outside the specific institutional forms that according to democratic theory are necessary for arriving at the nature of the relationships that are formed between the voters and their representatives and the nature and quality of their contribution to the democratic process.

Download or read book Multiethnic Democracy written by Jeremy Horowitz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-03-03 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who are the swing voters in multiethnic democracies? How much effort do parties invest in courting the swing relative to mobilizing supporters in their core ethnic bases? And how does this balance affect the policies leaders propose - and implement - if elected? This book examines the logic of electoral competition and policymaking in the context of Kenya's emerging multiparty democracy. Using data on voters, campaigns, and policy outcomes, it shows that the pursuit of the swing encourages presidential candidates to offer broad, inclusive promises and for election winners to opt for universal policies that share benefits widely. In doing so, it challenges the view - common to both popular accounts and scholarly work - that where ethnicity is politically salient, multiparty competition inevitably leads parties to focus their electoral efforts on mobilizing narrow ethnic factions and to concentrate rewards on ethnic clientele. Oxford Studies in African Politics and International Relations is a series for scholars and students working on African politics and International Relations and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on contemporary developments in African political science, political economy, and International Relations, such as electoral politics, democratization, decentralization, gender and political representation, the political impact of natural resources, the dynamics and consequences of conflict, comparative political thought, and the nature of the continent's engagement with the East and West. Comparative and mixed methods work is particularly encouraged, as is interdisciplinary research and work that considers ethical issues relating to the study of Africa. Case studies are welcomed but should demonstrate the broader theoretical and empirical implications of the study and its wider relevance to contemporary debates. The focus of the series is on sub-Saharan Africa, although proposals that explain how the region engages with North Africa and other parts of the world are of interest. Series Editors: Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy and International Development, University of Birmingham; Peace Medie, Senior Lecturer in Gender and International Politics, University of Bristol; and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Professor of the International Politics of Africa, University of Oxford.

Download or read book Political Opposition and Democracy in Sub Saharan Africa written by Elliott Green and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes a closer look at the role and meaning of political opposition for the development of democracy across sub-Saharan Africa. Why is room for political opposition in most cases so severely limited? Under what circumstances has the political opposition been able to establish itself in a legitimate role in African politics? To answer these questions this edited volume focuses on the institutional settings, the nature and dynamics within and between political parties, and the relationship between the citizens and political parties. It is found that regional devolution and federalist structures enable political opposition to organize and gain local power, as a supplement to influence at the central level. Generally, however, opposition parties are lacking in organization and institutionalization, as well as in their ability to find support in civil society and promote the issues that voters find most important. Overall, strong executive powers, unchecked by democratic institutions, in combination with deferential values and fear of conflict, undermine legitimate opposition activity. This book was originally published as a special issue of Democratization.

Download or read book Inequality and Political Cleavage in Africa written by Catherine Boone and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-02-29 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pathbreaking work integrates African countries into broader comparative theories of how spatial inequality shapes political competition over the construction of markets, states, and nations. Existing literature on African countries has found economic cleavages, institutions, and policy choices to be of low salience in national politics. This book inverts these arguments. Boone trains our analytic focus on the spatial inequalities and territorial institutions that structure national politics in Africa, showing that regional cleavages find expression in both electoral competition and policy struggles over redistribution, sectoral investment, market integration, and state design. Leveraging comparative politics theory, Boone argues that African countries' regional and core-periphery tensions are similar to those that have shaped national economic integration in other parts of the world. Bringing together electoral and economic geography, the book offers a new and powerful map of political competition on the African continent.

Download or read book Community Civic Engagement and Democratic Governance in Africa written by Mary R. Anderson and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-04-25 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how community influences civic engagement, focusing on the case of Ghana. It offers an interdisciplinary perspective to those studying psychology, political development and civic engagement in African countries. Previous research has shown that the social and economic context in which an individual interacts influences their political behaviors and attitudes, and that personal characteristics account for differences in political behavior and attitudes. This work moves away from the cultural demographics of a person, which often take center stage in existing investigations of partisan political behavior in the African context, and addresses the following five questions: (1) To what extent do individual traits influence civic engagement in Ghana? (2) To what extent is community identity similar or different in small rural villages versus large metropolitan areas in Ghana and how does community identity influence civic engagement? (3) To what extent does trust influence civic engagement in Ghana? (4) What factors and activities influence political knowledge and how does political knowledge influence civic engagement? (5) What is the status of women in civic engagement?

Download or read book The African Affairs Reader written by Nic Cheeseman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-19 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African Affairs is the top journal in African Studies and has been for some time. This book draws together some of the most influential, important, and thought provoking articles published in its pages over the last decade. In doing so, it collates essential cutting-edge research on Africa and makes it easily available for students, teachers, and researchers alike. The African Affairs Reader is broken down into four sections that cover some of the biggest themes and questions facing the continent today, including: the African State, the Political Economy of Development, Africa's Relationship with the World, and Elections, Representation & Democracy. Within each section, articles deal with some of the most significant recent trends and events, such as the prospects for democratization in Ghana and Nigeria, the factors underpinning Rwanda's economic success, the rise of political corruption in South Africa, the spread of the drugs trade, the struggle against gender based violence, and the growing influence of China. Each section is introduced by a new purpose-written essay by the journal's editors that explains the evolution of the wider debate, highlights key contributions, and suggests new ways in which the discussion can be taken forward. Taken together, the essays and articles included in the volume provide both a coherent introduction to the study of Africa and a compelling commentary on the current state of play on the continent.

Download or read book Rural Democracy written by Robin Harding and published by Oxford Studies in African Poli. This book was released on 2020 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How have African rulers responded to the introduction of democratic electoral competition? Despite the broadly negative picture painted by the prevailing focus on electoral fraud, clientelism, and ethnic conflict, the book argues that the full story is somewhat more promising. While these unfortunate practices may be widespread, African rulers also seek to win votes through the provision and distribution of public goods and services. The author's central argument is that in predominantly rural countries the introduction of competitive elections leads governments to implement pro-rural policies, in order to win the votes of the rural majority. As a result, across much of Africa the benefits of democratic electoral competition have accrued primarily in terms of rural development. This broad claim is supported by cross-national evidence, both from public opinion surveys and from individual level data on health and education outcomes. The argument's core assumptions about voting behavior are supported with quantitative evidence from Ghana, and qualitative historical evidence from Botswana presents further evidence for the underlying theoretical mechanism. Taken together, this body of evidence provides reasons to be optimistic about the operation of electoral accountability in Africa. African governments are responding to the accountability structures provided by electoral competition; in that sense, democracy in Africa is working. Oxford Studies in African Politics and International Relations is a series for scholars and students working on African politics and International Relations and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on contemporary developments in African political science, political economy, and International Relations, such as electoral politics, democratization, decentralization, the political impact of natural resources, the dynamics and consequences of conflict, and the nature of the continent's engagement with the East and West. Comparative and mixed methods work is particularly encouraged. Case studies are welcomed but should demonstrate the broader theoretical and empirical implications of the study and its wider relevance to contemporary debates. The series focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, although proposals that explain how the region engages with North Africa and other parts of the world are of interest. Series Editors: Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy and International Development, University of Birmingham; and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Professor of the International Politics of Africa, University of Oxford.

Download or read book Politics Governance and Development in Ghana written by Joseph R.A. Ayee and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-10-16 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since it achieved independence in 1957, the West African state of Ghana has become the torchbearer of African liberation, as well as a laboratory for the study of endemic problems facing the African continent. In terms of democratic consolidation, the country holds a unique position on the continent as beacon of stability and democracy. Politics, Governance, and Development in Ghana takes critical stock of the landmark themes that have dominated its history since independence. The contributors address issues such as citizenship, civil society, the military, politicians, chiefs, transnational actors, the public sector and policies, the executive branch, decentralization, the economy, electoral politics, natural resources, and relations with Asia and the diaspora. These themes support “mobilizing for Ghana’s future,” which is the theme for the diamond jubilee celebration of Ghana’s independence. Edited by Joseph R.A. Ayee, this book will deepen the literature on studies on Ghana especially in the areas of politics, governance, economy and development; serve as a resource for academics, students, practitioners; and commemorate the diamond jubilee celebration of Ghana’s independence.

Download or read book Governance for Pro Poor Urban Development written by Franklin Obeng-Odoom and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-18 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world development institutions commonly present 'urban governance' as an antidote to the so-called 'urbanisation of poverty' and 'parasitic urbanism' in Africa. Governance for Pro-Poor Urban Development is a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the meaning, nature, and effects of 'urban governance' in theory and in practice, with a focus on Ghana, a country widely regarded as an island of good governance in the sub region. The book illustrates how diverse groups experience urban governance differently and contextualizes how this experience has worsened social differentiation in cities. This book will be of great interest to students, teachers, and researchers in development studies, and highly relevant to anyone with an interest in urban studies, geography, political economy, sociology, and African studies.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Transformations of the State written by Stephan Leibfried and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2015-06-11 with total page 928 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Handbook offers a comprehensive treatment of transformations of the state, from its origins in different parts of the world and different time periods to its transformations since World War II in the advanced industrial countries, the post-Communist world, and the Global South. Leading experts in their fields, from Europe and North America, discuss conceptualizations and theories of the state and the transformations of the state in its engagement with a changing international environment as well as with changing domestic economic, social, and political challenges. The Handbook covers different types of states in the Global South (from failed to predatory, rentier and developmental), in different kinds of advanced industrial political economies (corporatist, statist, liberal, import substitution industrialization), and in various post-Communist countries (Russia, China, successor states to the USSR, and Eastern Europe). It also addresses crucial challenges in different areas of state intervention, from security to financial regulation, migration, welfare states, democratization and quality of democracy, ethno-nationalism, and human development. The volume makes a compelling case that far from losing its relevance in the face of globalization, the state remains a key actor in all areas of social and economic life, changing its areas of intervention, its modes of operation, and its structures in adaption to new international and domestic challenges.

Download or read book Minority Rules written by David Lublin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-20 with total page 551 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named the American Political Science Association's Best Book on Race, Ethnicity, and Politics for 2014 When we think of minorities--linguistic, ethnic, religious, regional, or racial--in world politics, conflict is often the first thing that comes to mind. Indeed, discord and tension are the depressing norms in many states across the globe: Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, Sudan, Israel, Sri Lanka, Burma, Rwanda, and many more. But as David Lublin points out in this magisterial survey of minority-based political groups across the globe, such parties typically function fairly well within larger polities. In Minority Rules, he eschews the usual approach of shining attention on conflict and instead looks at the representation of minority groups in largely peaceful and democratic countries throughout the world, from the tiniest nations in Polynesia to great powers like Russia. Specifically, he examines factors behind the electoral success of ethnic and regional parties and, alternatively, their failure to ever coalesce to explain how peaceful democracies manage relations between different groups. Contrary to theories that emphasize sources of minority discontent that exacerbate ethnic cleavages--for instance, disputes over control of natural resource wealth--Minority Rules demonstrates that electoral rules play a dominant role in explaining not just why ethnic and regional parties perform poorly or well but why one potential ethnic cleavage emerges instead of another. This is important because the emergence of ethnic/regional parties along with the failure to incorporate them meaningfully into political systems has long been associated with ethnic conflict. Therefore, Lublin's findings, which derive from an unprecedentedly rich empirical foundation, have important implications not only for reaching successful settlements to such conflicts but also for preventing violent majority-minority conflicts from ever occurring in the first place.

Download or read book Oil Democracy and Development in Africa written by John R. Heilbrunn and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-21 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oil, Democracy, and Development in Africa presents an optimistic analysis of the continent's oil-producing states. With attention to the complex histories, the interactions of key industry actors and policy makers, and the goals of diverse groups in society, this contribution fills a gap in the literature on resource-abundant countries. John R. Heilbrunn presents a positive assessment of circumstances in contemporary African oil exporters. The book demonstrates that even those leaders who are among the least accountable use oil revenues to improve their citizens' living standards, if only a little bit. As a consequence, African oil producers are growing economically and their people are living under increasingly democratic polities. Heilbrunn thus calls for a long-overdue reassessment of the impact of hydrocarbons on developing economies.

Download or read book Economic Policy 59 written by Georges De Menil and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-08-10 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Top economists provide a concise and accessible evaluation of major developments in trade and trade policy. Economic Policy has earned a reputation around the world as the one publication that always identifies current and emerging policy topics early Papers are specially commissioned from first-class economists and experts in the policy field The editors are all based at top European economic institutions and each paper is discussed by a panel of distinguished economists This unique approach guarantees incisive debate and alternative interpretations of the evidence

Download or read book Elites and the Politics of Accountability in Africa written by Wale Adebanwi and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2021-05-24 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elites and the Politics of Accountability in Africa examines the ways that accountability offers an effective interpretive lens to the social, cultural, and institutional struggles of both the elites and ordinary citizens in Africa. Each chapter investigates questions of power, its public deliberation, and its negotiation in Africa by studying elites through the framework of accountability. The book enters conversations about political subjectivity and agency, especially from ongoing struggles around identities and belonging, as well as representation and legitimacy. Who speaks to whom? And on whose behalf do they speak? The contributors to this volume offer careful analyses of how such concerns are embedded in wider forms of cultural, social, and institutional discussions about transparency, collective responsibility, community, and public decision-making processes. These concerns affect prospects for democratic oversight, as well as questions of alienation, exclusivity, privilege and democratic deficit. The book situates our understanding of the emergence, meaning, and conceptual relevance of elite accountability, to study political practices in Africa. It then juxtaposes this contextualization of accountability in relation to the practices of African elites. Elites and the Politics of Accountability in Africa offers fresh, dynamic, and multifarious accounts of elites and their practices of accountability and locally plausible self-legitimation, as well as illuminating accounts of contemporary African elites in relation to their socially and historicallysituated outcomes of contingency, composition, negotiation, and compromise.

Download or read book Turning Points in African Democracy written by Abdul Raufu Mustapha and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 2009 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A team of scholars examine the radical political changes that have taken place since 1990 in eleven key countries in Africa. Radical changes have taken place in Africa since 1990. What are the realities of these changes? What significant differences have emerged between African countries? What is the future for democracy in the continent? The editors have chosen eleven key countries to provide enlightening comparisons and contrasts to stimulate discussion among students. They have brought together a team of scholars who are actively working in the changing Africa of today.Each chapter is structured around a framing event which defines the experience of democratisation. The editors have provided an overview of the turning points in African politics. They engage with debates on how to study andevaluate democracy in Africa, such as the limits of elections. They identify four major themes with which to examine similarities and divergences as well as to explain change and continuity in what happened in the past. Abdul Raufu Mustapha is University Lecturer in African Politics at Queen Elizabeth House and Kirk-Greene Fellow at St Antony's College, University of Oxford; Lindsay Whitfield is a Research Fellow at the Danish Institute of International Studies, Copenhagen.

Download or read book Accounting for Judiciary Performance in an Emerging Democracy written by Stephen Kwaku Asare and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: