Read more
Looks at how Nigeria's political parties compete for power in a context of transition, terrorism, and religious and ethnic tension.
List of contents
1. Introduction; 2. The end of a new beginning: Nigeria's transition, 1999-2015; 3. The rational counterterrorist? Economic policy and insurgent insecurity in Nigeria's 2015 presidential campaign; 4. Voting against violence? Economic uncertainty and physical insecurity in 2015; 5. Electoral integrity, ethnic affinity and religious revival in Nigeria's party turnover; 6. Subnational subversion and institutional stress; 7. Conclusion.
About the author
A. Carl LeVan is Associate Professor at the American University in Washington, DC. His is the author of Dictators and Democracy in African Development: The Political Economy of Good Governance in Nigeria (Cambridge, 2015), co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics (2018), as well as various articles on Boko Haram, civil society, Abuja's development, and authoritarianism. He also worked as a technical trainer for Nigeria's National Assembly during the 1999 transition. LeVan's other publications include the co-authored Constituents before Assembly (Cambridge, 2017), which demonstrates the benefits of participatory constitution-making worldwide. He has published articles on power-sharing, constitution-making, African cabinet size, and the US military in Africa.
Summary
How do Africa's voters decide who to vote for, and what do political parties campaign on? A. Carl LeVan contributes to our understanding of democratization, elections, and transitions by demonstrating how Nigeria's opposition prevailed by appealing to voters on economic and other issues, even as Boko Haram unleashed a new wave of terrorism.
