Explaining the unexpected: electoral reform and democratic governance in Burkina Faso

Santiso, Carlos; Loada, Augustin

doi:10.1017/s0022278x03004294

Cited by 41 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…On the other hand, some of the rare studies on parties in Francophone Africa manage to treat the topic without referring once to ethnicity (Baudais and Chauzal, 2006;Buijtenhuijs, 1994;Santiso and Loada, 2003).…”

Section: Single-country Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How ethnic are African parties really? Evidence from four Francophone countries

Basedau¹,

Stroh²

2011

International Political Science Review

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Though African party systems are said to be ethnic, there is little evidence for this claim. The few empirical studies rarely rely on individual data and are biased in favour of Anglophone Africa. This paper looks at four Francophone countries, drawing on representative survey polls. Results reveal that ethnicity matters, but that its impact is generally rather weak and differs with regard to party systems and individual parties. 'Ethnic parties' in the strict sense are virtually absent. In particular, the voters' location seems more important than ethnic affiliation. Other determinants such as regional ties, elite strategies, cross-cutting cleavages, and rational preferences deserve more attention in the future study of voting behaviour in Africa.

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Section: Single-country Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How ethnic are African parties really? Evidence from four Francophone countries

Basedau¹,

Stroh²

2011

International Political Science Review

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“…also Manning 2005, Carey 2002). On the other hand, some of the rare studies on parties in Francophone Africa manage to treat the topic without referring once to ethnicity (Baudais and Chauzal 2006, Buijtenhuijs 1994, Santiso and Loada 2003.…”

Section: Erdmann 2007b)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnicity and Party Systems in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

Basedau

Stroh

2009

SSRN Journal

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Despite earlier assumptions that ethnicity is a central feature of African party systems, there is little substantial evidence for this claim. The few studies with an empirical foundation rarely rely on individual data and are biased in favor of Anglophone Africa. This paper looks at four Francophone countries, drawing on four representative survey polls in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Multivariate regression models and bivariate control tools reveal that ethnicity matters as a determinant of party preference, but that its impact is generally rather weak and differs with regard to party systems and individual parties."Ethnic parties" in the strict sense are almost completely absent, and only the Beninese party system is substantially "ethnicized." In particular, regional ties between voters and leaders-rather than ethnic affiliation alone-deserve attention in the future study of voting behavior in Africa.

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“…12 Dissemination of information in nondemocracies is problematic because media tend to be controlled by the government. Moreover, according to expert accounts on Africa, rulers sometimes allow F&F elections up to the point that their authority is not threatened (May & Massey, 2001;Santiso & Loada, 2003). Control of the judiciary can ensure that in case an unexpected result occurs, courts may intervene and protect the government.…”

Section: The Duverger Model and Violations Of Its Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Do Votes Count?

Mylonas

Roussias

2007

Comparative Political Studies

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The effects of electoral systems have been tested recently in Africa, raising several questions: Are the systematic effects of electoral rules the same across regime types? Does the conduct of elections affect the process of strategic coordination between voters and parties? The literature to date has not considered these issues and also analyzes elections in settings where a crucial set of its assumptions are clearly violated. The authors argue that the mechanism of strategic coordination only operates in democracies that hold free and fair elections, and they exhibit the ways it is violated outside of this domain. They compile a new data set on sub-Saharan African elections and show that the interaction of electoral rules and ethnopolitical cleavages predicts the number of parties only in democratic settings, failing to produce substantive effects in nondemocratic ones.

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Explaining the unexpected: electoral reform and democratic governance in Burkina Faso

Cited by 41 publications

References 26 publications

How ethnic are African parties really? Evidence from four Francophone countries

How ethnic are African parties really? Evidence from four Francophone countries

Ethnicity and Party Systems in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

When Do Votes Count?

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