Download or read book Elections and Conflict Management in Africa written by Timothy D. Sisk and published by US Institute of Peace Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elections have emerged as one of the most important, and most contentious, features of political life on the African continent. In the first half of this decade, there were more than 20 national elections, serving largely as capstones of peace processes or transitions to democracies. The outcomes of these and more recent elections have been remarkably varied, and the relationship between elections and conflict management is widely debated throughout Africa and among international observers. Elections can either help reduce tensions by reconstituting legitimate government, or they can exacerbate them by further polarizing highly conflictual societies. This timely volume examines the relationship between elections, especially electoral systems, and conflict management in Africa, while also serving as an important reference for other regions. The book brings together for the first time the latest thinking on the many different roles elections can play in democratization and conflict management.
Download or read book Preventing Election Violence Through Diplomacy written by Bhojraj Pokharel and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The State of Peacebuilding in Africa written by Terence McNamee and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-02 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book on the state of peacebuilding in Africa brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to reflect on key experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding in Africa over the past half century. The core themes addressed by the contributors include conflict prevention, mediation, and management; post-conflict reconstruction, justice and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration; the role of women, religion, humanitarianism, grassroots organizations, and early warning systems; and the impact of global, regional, and continental bodies. The book's thematic chapters are complemented by six country/region case studies: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan/South Sudan, Mozambique and the Sahel/Mali. Each chapter concludes with a set of key lessons learned that could be used to inform the building of a more sustainable peace in Africa. The State of Peacebuilding in Africa was born out of the activities of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP), a Carnegie-funded, continent-wide network of African organizations that works with the Wilson Center to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. The research for this book was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Download or read book Violence in African Elections written by Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2018-04-15 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multiparty elections have become the bellwether by which all democracies are judged, and the spread of these systems across Africa has been widely hailed as a sign of the continent’s progress towards stability and prosperity. But such elections bring their own challenges, particularly the often intense internecine violence following disputed results. While the consequences of such violence can be profound, undermining the legitimacy of the democratic process and in some cases plunging countries into civil war or renewed dictatorship, little is known about the causes. By mapping, analysing and comparing instances of election violence in different localities across Africa – including Kenya, Ivory Coast and Uganda – this collection of detailed case studies sheds light on the underlying dynamics and sub-national causes behind electoral conflicts, revealing them to be the result of a complex interplay between democratisation and the older, patronage-based system of ‘Big Man’ politics. Essential for scholars and policymakers across the social sciences and humanities interested in democratization, peace-keeping and peace studies, Violence in African Elections provides important insights into why some communities prove more prone to electoral violence than others, offering practical suggestions for preventing violence through improved electoral monitoring, voter education, and international assistance.
Download or read book Electoral Management Design written by Alan Wall and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building trust and professionalism in the management of electoral processes remains a major challenge for Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), institutions and/or bodies responsible for managing elections. The 'credibility gap' - the diminished public confidence in the integrity and diligence for many electoral institutions and their activities - is a common problem for EMBs around the world. Many EMBs face basic design questions as they seek to work better: how should EMBs be structured to ensure that they can act independently? How do EMBs relate to stakeholders such as the media, political parties and donors? How can EMBs evaluate their performance and use experience to build sustainable elections? "The Electoral Management Design Handbook" is written for electoral administrators, electoral administration designers and other practitioners involved in building professional, sustainable and cost-effective electoral administrations which can deliver legitimate and credible free and fair elections. It is a comparative study that shares best practices and know-how from around the world on financing, structuring and evaluation of Electoral Management Bodies
Download or read book Strengthening Electoral Integrity written by Pippa Norris and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-29 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today a general mood of pessimism surrounds Western efforts to strengthen elections and democracy abroad. If elections are often deeply flawed or even broken in many countries around the world, can anything be done to fix them? To counter the prevailing ethos, Pippa Norris presents new evidence for why programs of international electoral assistance work. She evaluates the effectiveness of several practical remedies, including efforts designed to reform electoral laws, strengthen women's representation, build effective electoral management bodies, promote balanced campaign communications, regulate political money, and improve voter registration. Pippa Norris argues that it would be a tragedy to undermine progress by withdrawing from international engagement. Instead, the international community needs to learn the lessons of what works best to strengthen electoral integrity, to focus activities and resources upon the most effective programs, and to innovate after a quarter century of efforts to strengthen electoral integrity.
Download or read book Democracy and Electoral Politics in Zambia written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-06-02 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy and Electoral Politics in Zambia aims to comprehend the current dynamics of Zambia’s democracy and to understand what was specific about the 2015/2016 election experience. While elections have been central to understanding Zambian politics over the last decade, the coverage they have received in the academic literature has been sparse. This book aims to fill that gap and give a more holistic account of contemporary Zambian electoral dynamics, by providing innovative analysis of political parties, mobilization methods, the constitutional framework, the motivations behind voters’ choices and the adjudication of electoral disputes by the judiciary. This book draws on insights and interviews, public opinion data and innovative surveys that aim to tell a rich and nuanced story about Zambia’s recent electoral history from a variety of disciplinary approaches. Contributors include: Tinenenji Banda, Nicole Beardsworth, John Bwalya, Privilege Haang’andu, Erin Hern, Marja Hinfelaar, Dae Un Hong, O’Brien Kaaba, Robby Kapesa, Chanda Mfula, Jotham Momba, Biggie Joe Ndambwa, Muna Ndulo, Jeremy Seekings, Hangala Siachiwena, Sishuwa Sishuwa, Owen Sichone, Aaron Siwale, Michael Wahman.
Download or read book Power Sharing and International Mediation in Ethnic Conflicts written by Timothy D. Sisk and published by US Institute of Peace Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can power sharing prevent violent ethnic conflict? And if so, how can the international community best promote that outcome? In this concise volume, Timothy Sisk defines power sharing as practices and institutions that result in broad-based governing coalitions generally inclusive of all major ethnic groups. He identifies the principal approaches to power sharing, including autonomy, federations, and proportional electoral systems. In addition, Sisk highlights the problems with various power-sharing approaches and practices that have been raised by scholars and practitioners alike, and the instances where power-sharing experiments have succeeded and where they have failed. Finally, he offers some guidance to policymakers as they ponder power-sharing arrangements.
Download or read book How Autocrats Compete written by Yonatan L. Morse and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains how autocrats compete in unfair elections in Africa and highlights the strengths and weaknesses of modern authoritarianism.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems written by Erik S. Herron and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-15 with total page 1017 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No subject is more central to the study of politics than elections. All across the globe, elections are a focal point for citizens, the media, and politicians long before--and sometimes long after--they occur. Electoral systems, the rules about how voters' preferences are translated into election results, profoundly shape the results not only of individual elections but also of many other important political outcomes, including party systems, candidate selection, and policy choices. Electoral systems have been a hot topic in established democracies from the UK and Italy to New Zealand and Japan. Even in the United States, events like the 2016 presidential election and court decisions such as Citizens United have sparked advocates to promote change in the Electoral College, redistricting, and campaign-finance rules. Elections and electoral systems have also intensified as a field of academic study, with groundbreaking work over the past decade sharpening our understanding of how electoral systems fundamentally shape the connections among citizens, government, and policy. This volume provides an in-depth exploration of the origins and effects of electoral systems.
Download or read book Electoral System Design written by Andrew Reynolds and published by Stockholm : International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. This book was released on 2005 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publisher Description
Download or read book International Electoral Standards written by International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and published by International IDEA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Secrecy of the ballot
Download or read book Contentious Elections written by Pippa Norris and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-04-10 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe the world has witnessed a rising tide of contentious elections ending in heated partisan debates, court challenges, street protests, and legitimacy challenges. In some cases, disputes have been settled peacefully through legal appeals and electoral reforms. In the worst cases, however, disputes have triggered bloodshed or government downfalls and military coups. Contentious elections are characterized by major challenges, with different degrees of severity, to the legitimacy of electoral actors, procedures, or outcomes. Despite growing concern, until recently little research has studied this phenomenon. The theory unfolded in this volume suggests that problems of electoral malpractice erode confidence in electoral authorities, spur peaceful protests demonstrating against the outcome, and, in the most severe cases, lead to outbreaks of conflict and violence. Understanding this process is of vital concern for domestic reformers and the international community, as well as attracting a growing new research agenda. The editors, from the Electoral Integrity Project, bring together scholars considering a range of fresh evidence– analyzing public opinion surveys of confidence in elections and voter turnout within specific countries, as well as expert perceptions of the existence of peaceful electoral demonstrations, and survey and aggregate data monitoring outbreaks of electoral violence. The book provides insights invaluable for studies in democracy and democratization, comparative politics, comparative elections, peace and conflict studies, comparative sociology, international development, comparative public opinion, political behavior, political institutions, and public policy.
Download or read book Voting in Fear written by Dorina Akosua Oduraa Bekoe and published by United States Institute of Peace Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nine contributors offer pioneering work on the scope and nature of electoral violence in Africa; investigate the forms electoral violence takes; and analyze the factors that precipitate, reduce, and prevent violence. The book breaks new ground with findings from the only known dataset of electoral violence in sub-Saharan Africa, spanning 1990 to 2008. Specific case studies of electoral violence in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria provide the context to further understanding the circumstances under which electoral violence takes place, recedes, or recurs.
Download or read book Election Management Bodies in Southern Africa written by Ecf-Sadc and published by African Minds. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past two decades, Southern African countries have entrenched the use of elections as the only means and medium for electing governments and representative institutions in governance. Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) are central to the delivery and quality of elections. These institutions are mandated to manage most or all aspects of the electoral process. Informed by diverse factors - the design, mandate, extent of powers and even the number of institutions responsible for electoral matters vary in each country. This study is a collaborative effort between the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), the Open Society Foundation's Africa Regional Office (AfRO) and the Electoral Commissions Forum of the Southern African Development Community (ECF-SADC). For each of the 12 countries, the research covered: Comparative analysis of the legal frameworks the EMBs operate under and of the historical and political contexts they function within; Comparative study of the institutional nature of the EMBs; Assessment of the powers vested in the EMBs in the conduct and management of electoral processes and their role in the drafting of electoral laws, managing electoral operations, certifying and proclaiming electoral results, ensuring that electoral results are credible, and in resolving electoral conflicts; and Comparative assessment of the independence of the EMBs with particular reference to funding and their relationships with the executive, political parties, parliament and the judiciary (electoral justice mechanisms). Findings and recommendations from this pan-African initiative are expected to increase information and knowledge on the strengths, weaknesses and workings of EMBs in sub-Saharan Africa to facilitate peer learning among African election managers, as well as informing policy-makers, legislators, governments and civil society on a progressive reform agenda to strengthen inclusive electoral processes and democratic practice.
Download or read book The Integrity of Elections written by Raul Cordenillo and published by International IDEA. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first of its kind, this book examines the mandates of and initiatives on electoral processes including election observation, electoral technical assistance, and gender mainstreaming of six regional organizations: the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, the League of Arab States, the Organization of American States, and the Pacific Islands Forum. This publication captures the experiences of each organization, including the regional context, achievements, limitations, challenges, and prospects. This is a policy-oriented collection, and each chapter provides thought-provoking recommendations for both policymakers and practitioners."
Download or read book Electoral Violence in Sub Saharan Africa written by Stephanie M. Burchard and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
