Electoral Politics in Africa since 1990
Continuity in Change

First comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in Sub-Saharan Africa since the democratic transitions of the early 1990s.

Jaimie Bleck (Author), Nicolas van de Walle (Author)

9781107162082, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 November 2018

340 pages, 31 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.59 kg

'… an outstanding contribution to comparative politics in Africa … this is a must read for anyone interested in the development of African democracies in the first 25 years after the end of the Cold War.' Ulf Engel, Connections

Democratic transitions in the early 1990s introduced a sea change in Sub-Saharan African politics. Between 1990 and 2015, several hundred competitive legislative and presidential elections were held in all but a handful of the region's countries. This book is the first comprehensive comparative analysis of the key issues, actors, and trends in these elections over the last quarter century. The book asks: what motivates African citizens to vote? What issues do candidates campaign on? How has the turn to regular elections promoted greater democracy? Has regular electoral competition made a difference for the welfare of citizens? The authors argue that regular elections have both caused significant changes in African politics and been influenced in turn by a rapidly changing continent - even if few of the political systems that now convene elections can be considered democratic, and even if many old features of African politics persist.

1. The puzzle of electoral continuity
2. The evolution of electoral competition, 1990–2015
3. The impact of elections on democracy
4. Political parties and electoral competition
5. Candidates and electoral campaigns
6. Analyzing issues in presidential campaigns
7. The African voter
8. Do African elections matter?
Appendix
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Elections & referenda [JPHF], Comparative politics [JPB]