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

Abstract

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.

Fertilizer and votes: Does strategic economic policy explain the 2009 Malawi election?

“…While authors such as Norris and Mattes (2003), Bratton andKimenyi (2008), Eifertetl al. (2010) or Osei-Hwedi (1998) note the importance of ethnicity in electoral outcomes in certain countries, other authors, such as Basedau and Stroh (2012), Batty (2011) or Lindberg and Morrison (2008) find little evidence that ethnicity drives electoral choice. On balance, it is unlikely these patterns simply boil down to race.…”

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