State Building and Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa

Across sub-Saharan Africa, new democracies emerge only in the context of relatively effective states. Using aggregate indicators of democracy and governance plus new public opinion data, the authors show which aspects of state building are most important. The scope of state infrastructure and the delivery of welfare services have little impact on democratization. But the establishment of a rule of law—as experienced through improvements in personal security and the popular perception that leaders respect the constitution—is critical to building democracy. But because the legitimacy of the state is itself a reciprocal product of democratization, studies of African states and regimes, presently separated, should be connected.

[1]  J. Wiseman,et al.  Democracy and political change in Sub-Saharan Africa , 1995 .

[2]  R. Rose,et al.  Elections Without Order: Russia's Challenge to Vladimir Putin , 2002 .

[3]  R. Rose,et al.  Democratization Backwards: The Problem of Third-Wave Democracies , 2001 .

[4]  J. Abbink,et al.  Election observation and democratization in Africa , 2000 .

[5]  Aart Kraay,et al.  Government Matters III : Governance Indicators for 1996-2002 , 2003 .

[6]  Aart Kraay,et al.  Governance Matters IV: Governance Indicators for 1996-2004 , 2005 .

[7]  Leonardo Morlino,et al.  The Quality of Democracy: An Overview , 2004 .

[8]  Michael Bratton.  Second Elections in Africa , 1998 .

[9]  J. Herbst,et al.  States and Power in Africa: Comparative Lessons in Authority and Control , 2014 .

[10]  William Reno.  Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone , 1995 .

[11]  J. Wiseman.  Africa Works: disorder as a political instrument , 1999 .

[12]  Michael E. Alvarez,et al.  Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World, 1950–1990 , 2000 .

[13]  L. Diamond,et al.  Democratization in Africa , 2001 .

[14]  Ziad Badr.  African development indicators 2001 , 2001 .

[15]  Nicolas van de Walle.  African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979–1999 , 2001 .

[16]  S. Whitefield,et al.  The Politics and Economics of Democratic Commitment: Support for Democracy in Transition Societies , 1995, British Journal of Political Science.

[17]  S. Ndegwa.  A Decade of Democracy in Africa , 2001, A Decade of Democracy in Africa.

[18]  Andreas Schedler,et al.  Democrats with adjectives: Linking direct and indirect measures of democratic support , 2007 .

[19]  M. Cowen,et al.  Multi-party Elections in Africa , 2002 .

[20]  R. Inglehart.  Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies , 1997 .

[21]  Larry Diamond,et al.  Elections Without Democracy: Thinking About Hybrid Regimes , 2002 .

[22]  Xavier Coller,et al.  Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation. Southern Europe, South America and Post-Communist Europe , 1996 .

[23]  R. Joseph.  State, conflict, and democracy in Africa , 1999 .

[24]  L. Diamond.  Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation , 1999 .

[25]  S. Levitsky,et al.  Elections Without Democracy: The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism , 2002 .

[26]  J. Widner.  Building the Rule of Law , 2001 .

[27]  C. Haerpfer,et al.  Democracy and Its Alternatives: Understanding Post-Communist Societies , 2000 .

[28]  Gina M. S. Lambright,et al.  Democratic reform in Africa : the quality of progress , 2004 .

[29]  A. Hadenius.  Institutions and Democratic Citizenship , 2001 .

[30]  Catherine Boone,et al.  Political Topographies of the African State: Territorial Authority and Institutional Choice , 2003 .

[31]  G. O'donnell.  The Quality of Democracy: Why the Rule of Law Matters , 2004 .

[32]  Pierre Englebert.  State Legitimacy and Development in Africa , 2000 .

[33]  Michael Bratton,et al.  Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective , 1999 .

[34]  M. Ottaway.  Democracy Challenged: The Rise of Semi-Authoritarianism , 2002 .

[35]  M. Beissinger,et al.  Beyond state crisis? : postcolonial Africa and post-Soviet Eurasia in comparative perspective , 2004 .

[36]  R. Jeffries,et al.  The African State at a Critical Juncture: Between Disintegration and Reconfiguration , 1999 .

[37]  Thomas Carothers,et al.  The End of the Transition Paradigm , 2002 .

[38]  E. Shearer,et al.  Don't Knows , 1999 .

[39]  L. Beck.  Democratization and the Hidden Public: The Impact of Patronage Networks on Senegalese Women , 2003 .

[40]  Fareed Zakaria,et al.  The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad , 2003 .

[41]  R. Jackson,et al.  Why Africa's Weak States Persist: The Empirical and the Juridical in Statehood , 1982, World Politics.

[42]  S. Lindberg.  The Democratic Qualities of Competitive Elections: Participation, Competition and Legitimacy in Africa , 2004 .

[43]  E. Gyimah-Boadi,et al.  Public Opinion, Democracy, and Market Reform in Africa , 2004 .

[44]  D. Rustow.  Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model , 1970 .

[45]  M. Weinstein,et al.  The Democracy Advantage: How Democracies Promote Prosperity and Peace , 2004 .