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dc.contributor.editorArriola, Leonardo R.
dc.contributor.editorRakner, Lise
dc.contributor.editorvan de walle, Nicolas
dc.date.accessioned2023-01-30T10:05:02Z
dc.date.available2023-01-30T10:05:02Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.identifier.urihttps://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/60999
dc.description.abstractWhy have most African countries not achieved greater political liberalization? What explains the lack of progress toward the ideals of liberal democracy across the region? This book advances ongoing debates on democratic backsliding with specific reference to Africa. In examining how incumbent leaders in African countries attempt to contain societal pressures for greater democracy, the chapters explain how governments go beyond the standard tools of manipulation, such as electoral fraud and political violence, to keep democracy from unfolding in their countries. The book emphasizes two distinct strategies that governments frequently use to reinforce their hold on power, but which remain overlooked in conventional analyses; —the legal system and the international system. It—documents how governments employ the law to limit the scope of action among citizens and civil society activists struggling to expand democratic liberties, including the use of constitutional provisions and the courts. The work further demonstrates how governments use their role in international relations to neutralize pressure from external actors, including sovereigntist claims against foreign intervention and selective implementation of donor-promoted policies. While pro-democracy actors can also employ these legal and international strategies to challenge incumbents, in some cases to prevent democratic backsliding, the book shows why and how incumbents have enjoyed institutional advantages when implementing these strategies through the six country case studies of Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.en_US
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.subject.classificationthema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPS International relationsen_US
dc.subject.classificationthema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPA Political science and theoryen_US
dc.subject.classificationthema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processesen_US
dc.subject.classificationthema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1H Africaen_US
dc.subject.otherdemocratic backsliding, democracy, Africa, political liberalization, government, strategies, legal system, international system, international relations, African politicsen_US
dc.titleDemocratic Backsliding in Africa?en_US
dc.title.alternativeAutocratization, Resilience, and Contentionen_US
dc.typebook
oapen.identifier.doi10.1093/oso/9780192867322.001.0001en_US
oapen.relation.isPublishedByb9501915-cdee-4f2a-8030-9c0b187854b2en_US
oapen.relation.isFundedBy39729116-4b2f-4b53-936b-3f05ae46f005en_US
oapen.pages320en_US
oapen.place.publicationOxforden_US
oapen.remark.publicFunder name: University of Bergen


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