External democracy promotion in Africa: Another false start?

Lawson, Letitia

doi:10.1080/14662049908447780

Cited by 16 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Factors that arrest and reverse diffusion are intimately linked to the factors that produce diffusion in the first place. But as these immense external incentives dissipated, a number of regimes became unable to sustain these reforms due to unfavorable domestic circumstances, leading to a democratic rollback (Lawson 1999;Levitsky and Way 2010). In the 20th century, the three major cases of democratic diffusion experienced reversals shortly after their peak -a catastrophic reversal after 1919, a severe one after 1945, and a partial but persistent one after 1989.…”

Section: Cas and Democratic Diffusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The proliferation of hybrid regimes over the past two decades followed a similar dynamic: the collapse of the Soviet Union initially created powerful and self-reinforcing pressures for global democratization. But as these immense external incentives dissipated, a number of regimes became unable to sustain these reforms due to unfavorable domestic circumstances, leading to a democratic rollback (Lawson 1999; Levitsky and Way 2010).…”

Section: Cas and Democratic Diffusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Complexity and theories of change in international politics

Gunitsky

2013

Int Theory

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This article examines how the principles of complex systems can illuminate recurring mechanisms of change in theories of international relations. It applies the logic of complex systems to two specific puzzles in international politicsthe problem of theorizing change in structural realism, and the dynamics of cross-border democratic diffusion. In the first case, by shifting the analysis of anarchy's consequences from state behavior to state attributes, complex systems can illustrate the sources of domestic and international transformations embedded in structural theories. This approach offers a way to think about democratization as a global process of interstate competition and socialization driven by the pressures of anarchy. In the second case, the principles of co-adaptation in complex systems can help reframe diffusion not as the unilinear spread of democracy but as the interplay of self-reinforcing and self-dampening dynamics, whose interaction shapes both actor expectations and democratic outcomes. In both cases, complex systems serve a limited but useful role; although not conducive to theory creation, the approach provides a useful analytical prism for examining patterns of change and continuity in global processes, and highlights concrete ways of improving models of transformations in international politics.

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Section: Cas and Democratic Diffusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cas and Democratic Diffusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity and theories of change in international politics

Gunitsky

2013

Int Theory

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“…The role of ethnicity in structuring voter alignments is important in that, as Horowitz (1985) argues, in countries where ascribed ethnic loyalties are strong, “deeply riven along a preponderant ethnic cleavage—as in many Asian and African states—[there is a tendency] to throw up party systems that exacerbate ethnic conflict” (Horowitz 1985, 291). For some, like Lawson (1999, 12), ethnicity is an alternative basis for party mobilization and an almost natural process in Africa given the “absence of formal associations clearly apart from the state and capable of engaging the population, the introduction of liberal democratic procedures, at the behest of external donors, [this] has led political parties to appeal to the only available alternative: ethnic identity.” Given the often‐cited importance of ethnicity in African party politics, this would suggest that, at the individual level, African voters with particularly strong ethnic identities should feel more intensely partisan than those with less strong ethnic identities.…”

Section: Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

What Affects the Strength of Partisan Identity in Sub‐Saharan Africa?

Ishiyama

Fox

2006

Politics & Policy

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A longstanding focus of political science scholarship has been on voter studies and, in particular, on the motivations for partisanship. This article examines the intensity of partisan attachments among respondents in twelve sub‐Saharan African states (Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) using data from the Afrobarometer study. Employing a framework derived from both the literature in the West and from newly developing democracies, we test the various explanations put forward for the strength or intensity of partisan attachment in the African context. We find that being a rural voter and support for the governing party are the best predictors for the intensity of partisan attachment among African voters in these twelve sub‐Saharan states. These results suggest the continued importance of patronage as a source for party loyalty.

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“…» Une telle vision constitue un paradoxe, dans la mesure où le concept de société civile est lui aussi sous-tendu par une vision néolibérale 22 . Comme le note Lawson, les éléments les plus dynamiques de la société civile considèrent que l'État est au centre de conflits d'intérêts économiques 23 . Au Burkina aussi, leurs prises de position s'élèvent contre le désengagement de l'État qui repose sur une vision libérale d'un État minimum préconisé par la Banque mondiale.…”

Section: La Cohérence Idéologiqueunclassified

Réflexions sur la société civile en Afrique : Le Burkina de l'après-Zongo

Loada

1999

Politique Africaine

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Nombreux sont les concepts fondamentaux de l'analyse du politique en Afrique qui font aujourd'hui l'objet de réévaluations, voire de révisions déchirantes, depuis que la vague de « démocratisation » inattendue du début des années 90 est retombée. Il en est ainsi du concept de société civile. Celle-ci n'existerait pas en Afrique noire, où elle ne serait qu'une idéologie, un slogan qu'il conviendrait de déconstruire afin de ne pas créer de confusion, ni entretenir l'illusion de systèmes politiques très proches de ceux des sociétés « civilisées 1 ». Pourtant, en analysant le mouvement de protestation qui s'est récemment exprimé au Burkina-Faso, on peut soutenir que la société civile n'est pas un leurre. Elle existe, d'abord et avant tout parce qu'elle a conscience de son existence, de son rôle, des risques encourus par ses militants et dirigeants, qui les assument au nom d'un certain nombre de valeurs. Si certains auteurs récusent le concept de société civile, estimant qu'il convient de s'en passer au profit d'autres, plus classiques mais aussi plus heuristiques, tels les concepts de classes, d'élites, d'ethnicité, ou de genre, d'autres estiment en revanche qu'on peut l'utiliser sous bénéfice d'inventaire 2. Certes, le processus de différenciation des sphères politique et économique et l'émergence d'une classe moyenne forte et organisée sont encore des processus incertains en Afrique noire. De ce fait, on peut comprendre les réticences de certains chercheurs à utiliser un tel concept. Mais de là à nier qu'il puisse

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External democracy promotion in Africa: Another false start?

Cited by 16 publications

References 15 publications

Complexity and theories of change in international politics

Complexity and theories of change in international politics

What Affects the Strength of Partisan Identity in Sub‐Saharan Africa?

Réflexions sur la société civile en Afrique : Le Burkina de l'après-Zongo

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