Exchange: Reexamining African Elections

Issue Date October 2013
Volume 24
Issue 4
Page Numbers 151-160
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Do even unfree and unfair elections in sub-Saharan Africa, if repeated often enough, really contribute to democratization? A fresh look at the evidence casts doubt on the theory of “democratization by elections.”

About the Author

Matthijs Bogaards is professor of political science at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. This essay is a shorter version of a chapter that will appear in Renske Doorenspleet and Lia Nijzink’s edited volume Political Parties, Party Systems and Democracy in Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

View all work by Matthijs Bogaards