Critical Junctures: Independence Movements and Democracy in Africa

Abstract

We show that current levels of democracy in Africa are linked to the nature of its independence movements. Using different measures of political regimes and historical data on anticolonial movements, we find that countries that experienced rural insurgencies tend to have autocratic regimes, while those that faced urban protests tend to have more democratic institutions. The association between the type of independence movement and democracy is statistically significant for the post‐Cold War period and robust to a number of potential confounding factors and sensitivity checks. We provide evidence for causality in this relationship by using an instrumental variables approach and a difference‐in‐differences design with fixed effects. Furthermore, we adjudicate between two potential mechanisms and find support for a behavioral path dependence hypothesis. Urban protests enabled participants to develop norms of peaceful political behavior, which provided cultural bases for liberal democracy. In contrast, armed rebellions generated behavioral patterns that perpetuated political exclusion and the use of violence as a form of political dissent.

On informal housing supply restrictions and livelihood in informal settlements: Implications for sustainable development

“…Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975, following a 10-year period of militant conflict as the dictatorship that ruled Portugal after the Second World War did not withdraw from its African colonies (Henriksen, 1978;Wantchékon & García-Ponce, 2013). Following independence, the Marxist-Leninist Mozambican Liberation Movement (FRELIMO) took power.…”

“…Following independence, the Marxist-Leninist Mozambican Liberation Movement (FRELIMO) took power. However, the country was afflicted by a lengthy civil war (1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994), in which FRELIMO supported by the Soviet Union fought against the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) supported by Apartheid South Africa and the United States engaging in a proxy-war (Henriksen, 1978;Wantchékon & García-Ponce, 2013). After the civil war, Mozambique entered a period of relative stability and high economic growth rates under continued FRELIMO singleparty governance.…”