Democracy dividend vs. autocratic model in crisis
Democracy is under siege. But the evidence that democracy is good for growth doesn’t directly speak to whether democracy is easy to make work. Nor does it imply or maintain… Read more »
Category: Africa
Zimbabwe’s divided opposition boosts ruling party’s election chances
Zimbabwe’s divided opposition could bolster the long ruling party’s chances of victory after failing to forge a solid coalition for the country’s first elections without Robert Mugabe. Twenty-three candidates –… Read more »
Assessing Zimbabwe’s elections: another GNU in the making?
Amid indications that the first round of voting in Zimbabwe’s July 30 ‘harmonized’ elections may not produce a clear winner, some civil society groups started putting together building blocks for… Read more »
Gambia – ‘the star performer’ in democratic transition
The European Union has pledged €1.45bn to reinforce political and financial support for The Gambia’s democratic transition. “The#Gambia is showing to the world that freedom and democracy are about real people and… Read more »
Zimbabwe elections could lack credibility, civil society warns
The European Union will oversee elections held in Zimbabwe this summer, the first time it has done so since 2002, CNBC reports: Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is attempting to build… Read more »
Sub-Saharan Africa’s diverging democratization trends
The last decade has seen the standing of democracy in Africa improve, argues Natasha Ezrow, a senior lecturer at the University of Essex. In the early 1980s, only five countries… Read more »
World Press Freedom Hero exposes Angolan kleptocracy
Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, a leading anti-corruption activist, has been named the International Press Institute (IPI)’s 70th World Press Freedom Hero. Recently described as a thorn in the… Read more »
Activist’s trial highlights Angola’s reputation for nepotism and corruption
Angola’s new government must tackle the country’s reputation for nepotism and corruption, both at home and abroad, analysts suggest. President João Lourenço has made a positive start in challenging the… Read more »
Dictators – on the way out or the way up?
All around the world, democracy is looking shaky, says Natasha Ezrow of the University of Essex. While consolidated democracies are struggling to stay healthy, many flawed ones have turned into… Read more »
Forging a ‘New Deal’ for South Africa
The last president of apartheid South Africa is feeling a lot better about his country’s prospects. The scandal-tainted reign of Jacob Zuma that dragged the rainbow nation’s reputation and economy into the… Read more »