Liberal Democracy and Its Critics in Africa: Political Dysfunction and the Struggle for Social Progress
Edited by Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo
Published 2005; 256 pages; ISBN: 2-86978-143-1
Africa in the New Millennium Series
The institutional forms and process of democracy are spreading in Africa as dictatorial regimes have been forced to give way. But democratic form and democratic substance are two different things. Western derived institutional forms are
neither necessarily the most appropriate nor the most practical in the current African context, and rooting democratic norms in African political cultures raises socio-cultural questions. This book draws on the experiences of particular African elections and countries to explore the continuing impact of police state apparatuses; the factors influencing voters’ attitudes
and behaviour; the impact of incumbency on electoral competition; women’s participation; and the lack of choice in party programmes. The fundamental issue is whether democratic processes as currently practised in Africa are really making any difference.
Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo is Professor of Political Science and Herbert J. Charles and Florence Charles Faegre Professor of Political Science,
and he was the Chair of the Department of International Studies from 1999 to 2002 at Wells College, Aurora, New York. He was also Visiting Senior Fellow between 1992 and 2001 at the Institute for African Development at Cornell University, and he is also Visiting Scholar at the Department of City and Regional at Cornell University. He also is a Research Associate at
Institut d’Ethno-Sociologie, Université de Cocody Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa).
Contents
Preface
Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo
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Liberal Democracy and Democratic Process: What Lessons for Deconstructing and Building African Democracies?
Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo
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Political Transition in Africa: Confronting the Legacy of the Police State
Rachid Tlemçani
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Electoral Attitudes in Cameroon: A New Appraisal
Jean-Marie Zambo Belinga
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Factors Influencing Women’s Participation in Democratisation and Electoral Processes in Kenya
Beatrice N. Onsarigo
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Alliances in the Political and Electoral Process in the Republic of Congo
Joachim Emmanuel Goma-Thethet
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The Politics of Elections: Opposition and the Incumbency Factor, Ghana
Emmanuel Debrah
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Voting Without Choosing: Interrogating the Crisis of Electoral Democracy in Nigeria
W. Alade Fawole
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The Electoral Process in the Central African Republic: Protagonists and Challenges
Aimé Samuel Saba
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Conclusion: Beyond the Current Discourse on Democracy and Democratic Process in Africa
Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo
HbISBN 1 84277 618 5 £ 65.00 $85.00
PB ISBN 2-86978-143-1 $20.00 (Africa); £ 18.95 $29.95 (Elsewhere)
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