Pouring Salt into the Wound: The Crisis of International Election Observation and COVID-19 in Africa

Matlosa, Khabele

doi:10.1177/0021909621999402

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…We find no evidence of a broader shift in democratic attitudes. Matlosa (2021) [ 120 ] Africa The crisis of international election observation in Africa during the pandemic International election observation The onset of COVID-19 has compounded the crisis of international election observation. Merkel (2020) Germany Reflections on the implications of state of exception as mode of governance on institutions and actors of democracy.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and democracy: a scoping review

Sorsa,

Kivikoski

2023

BMC Public Health

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Background The resilience of democracy is tested under exogenous shocks such as crises. The COVID-19 pandemic has recently tested the resilience of democratic institutions and practices around the world. Aim The purpose of this article is to scope the early research literature that discusses democracy and the COVID-19 pandemic. We review scientific journal articles published during the first two years of the pandemic. We ask three research questions in scoping this body of literature: (1) what are the key topic areas of all published research that associates itself with both democracy and COVID-19, (2) what kinds of conceptual and theoretical contributions has research literature that more specifically discusses democracy under the pandemic produced, and (3) what are the impacts of democracy to the pandemic and vice versa according to empirical research? Methods The scoping review methodology draws on systematic literature search strategies, computational methods, and manual coding. The systematic Web of Science search produced 586 articles for which we conducted a Correlated Topic Model. After technical and manual screening, we identified 94 journal articles that were manually coded. Results The early research on democracy and the COVID-19 pandemic offers a versatile body of scholarship. The topic modeling shows that the scholarship discusses issues of crises, governance, rights, society, epidemiology, politics, electorate, technology, and media. The body of papers with conceptual and theoretical contributions has offered new insights on the difficulties, possibilities, and means to maintain democracy under a pandemic. Empirical research on democracy’s impact on the COVID-19 pandemic and vice versa varies in terms of methodology, geographical scope, and scientific contributions according to the direction of influence studied. Democracy appears to have a significant impact on some aspects of policy responses and epidemiological characteristics of the pandemic. In most parts of the world, the scope, franchise, and authenticity of democracy narrowed down due to the pandemic, albeit in most cases only temporarily. Conclusions A significant number of papers show that the pandemic has accentuated democratic backsliding but is unlikely to have undermined established democracies that have proved resilient in face of the pandemic. But empirical research has also made visible some weak signals of antidemocratic tendencies that may become more accentuated in the longer run.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and democracy: a scoping review

Sorsa,

Kivikoski

2023

BMC Public Health

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“…As a leadership strategy, peaceocracy could be short-lived or long term and is most effective in transitional countries with hybrid regimes (Lynch, 2020), where there is consensus among politicians, the press, civil society, and even the church over the methods to achieve political stability. While peaceocracy is not anti-democracy, scholars argue that it devalues democratic principles, especially when deployed strategically to gloss over human rights violations, electoral malpractice, or poor governance (Matlosa, 2021). Constant change and political disruptions (e.g.…”

Section: The Rise Of Peaceocracymentioning

confidence: 99%

The risks of peace: Exploring the relationship between peaceocracy and journalism in Kenya

Arregui Olivera,

Cheruiyot

2023

International Communication Gazette

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Scholars have recently suggested that a peaceocracy is emerging in nations experiencing intermittent conflicts. A peaceocracy is an institutionalised political strategy – rather than a political system – that aims to promote stability in states considered fragile. While scholars know how the press functions in a democracy, little is still known about how a peaceocracy shapes journalism. This article explores the Kenyan context to illuminate how the press co-opts a peaceocratic discourse and discusses its implications to the profession. We pose that a political consensus between the state and the press foments a strong peace-building discourse that challenges professional autonomy. Secondly, in a peaceocracy, the state takes the role of the guardian of peace and the press, a promoter of peace, both of which legitimise a degree of restriction on press freedom.

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“…Так, у період лютий -липень 2020 р. щонайменше 68 держав і територій відклали проведення виборів через Covid-19. Також сталася криза міжнародного спостереження за виборами [20]. Окремі кандидати в президенти, які обіймали на поточний момент посаду глави держави (наприклад -сербський президент А. Вучич), використовували своє посадове становище та перенесення виборів у часі для своєї прихованої реклами під час поточних заходів, пов'язаних із протидією коронавірусу.…”

Section: виклад основного матеріалуunclassified

Coronavirus Pandemic as a Factor in the Strengthening of Neo-Authoritarianism

Vitalii¹

2022

FIL

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It is argued that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the political sphere, in particular the transformation of political regimes. Situational factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic are proven to exacerbate the authoritarian characteristics of the political regime, especially in states with an unstable democratic tradition. The key manifestations of the strengthening of neo-authoritarianism, which became apparent during the pandemic, are identified: imbalance between the branches of government; postponement of regular elections; introduction of new methods of mass surveillance; narrowing of guaranteed human and citizen rights and freedoms; increased censorship and pressure on the media; pressure on the opposition and critical segment of civil society, etc. It is substantiated that the coronavirus pandemic has had a destructive effect on the quality of democracy in states with all types of political regimes, especially in states with flawed democracies, hybrid and authoritarian regimes. The hypothesis is confirmed that autocratic state leaders, having experienced the benefits of their expanded competence during the pandemic, seek to retain their additional powers.

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Pouring Salt into the Wound: The Crisis of International Election Observation and COVID-19 in Africa

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

COVID-19 and democracy: a scoping review

COVID-19 and democracy: a scoping review

The risks of peace: Exploring the relationship between peaceocracy and journalism in Kenya

Coronavirus Pandemic as a Factor in the Strengthening of Neo-Authoritarianism

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