Party Systems and Democracy in Africa

Do party systems help or hinder democracy in Africa? Drawing lessons from different types of party systems in six African countries, this volume shows that party systems affect democracy in Africa in ways that are unexpectedly different from the relation between party systems and democracy observed elsewhere.

List of contents

1. Do Party Systems Matter for Democracy in Africa?; Renske Doorenspleet and Lia Nijzink 2. Multi-Party Elections in Africa: For Better or Worse; Matthijs Bogaards PART I: ONE-PARTY DOMINANT SYSTEMS 3. South Africa: Electoral Dominance, Identity Politics and Democracy; Steven Friedman 4 Botswana: Presidential Ambitions, Party Factions and the Durability of a Dominant Party; Christian John Makgala and Shane Mac Giollabhuí 5. Namibia: From Liberation to Domination; Henning Melber PART II: OTHER PARTY SYSTEMS 6. Ghana: The African Exemplar of an Institutionalized Two-Party System?; Cyril Daddieh and George Bob-Milliar 7. Benin: A Pulverized Party System in Transition; Rachel Gisselquist 8. Zambia: Dominance Won and Lost ; Dan Paget PART III: CONCLUSION 9. Do Party Systems Help or Hinder Democracy in Africa?; Renske Doorenspleet and Lia Nijzink

About the author

George M. Bob-Milliar, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Matthijs Bogaards, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany

Cyril K. Daddieh, Miami University, USA

Steven Friedman, Rhodes University, South Africa and the University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Rachel M. Gisselquist, United Nations University, Japan

Christian John Makgala, University of Botswana

Shane Mac Giollabhuí, University of Oxford, UK

Henning Melber, The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Sweden
Dan Paget, University of Oxford, UK

Summary

Do party systems help or hinder democracy in Africa? Drawing lessons from different types of party systems in six African countries, this volume shows that party systems affect democracy in Africa in ways that are unexpectedly different from the relation between party systems and democracy observed elsewhere.

Product details

• Authors: L. Nijzink
• Assisted by: Doorenspleet (Editor), R Doorenspleet (Editor), R. Doorenspleet (Editor), Nijzink (Editor), Nijzink (Editor), L. Nijzink (Editor)
• Publisher: Palgrave UK
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 14.01.2014
• EAN: 9781349436491
• ISBN: 978-1-349-43649-1
• No. of pages: 205
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Comparative and international political science; B, History: specific events & topics, Democracy, Political Science, Africa, Politics & government, Political science & theory, Political structures: democracy, Political History, Comparative Politics, United States of America, USA, African Politics, World Politics, Palgrave Political Science Collection, US Politics, United States—Politics and government, Africa—Politics and government, American Politics, democracy;identity;Institution;Nation;politics