Electoral Pressures In Africa Case Study

Europe and Africa have been linked together in evaluating the state formation process. Both regions have similarities, strengths, weaknesses, and room for improvement. To this day both regions are far from perfect. Some light can be shed on this subject, by evaluating Europe and Africa’s state formation process, evaluating what party benefits, and briefly explaining two economic consequences of European colonialism in Africa.

9. Review Klein, Chapters 2 and 3. She explains the influence of US economists, especially Milton Friedman, in designing development strategies, and of the US in installing or supporting governments that would carry them out in several countries that had been pursuing a ‘middle’ development path of ‘regulated’ capitalism in which the state played a large role in supporting social welfare and the development of local businesses. You can expect test questions on this material, including the role of the US in ‘regime change’ in these countries, the role of US-trained economists afterward, and the path that these countries were supposed to pursue.

Africa has been at the margins of the global economy for much if not all the post-independence period. This is despite having sixty five percent of the worlds diamonds, thirty percent of the world’s oil and in 1976, seventy nine percent of the worlds gold. Africa’s rich mineral basins and numerous tourist attractions left the rest of the world shocked when Africa 's share of world trade has dropped from four percent to one and a half percent over the last forty years and its growth rates were down through the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Some experts averred that all this happened because African countries failed to attract private capital as most investors

5. Is the ‘criminalisation’ of the State a useful and accurate analysis of the consequences of globalisation for Sub-Saharan Africa? Exemplify your answer.

First, Linz’s argument is based on “regionally skewed and highly selective sample of comparative experience” (144). If a sample set drawn primarily from Africa would be used to analyze parliamentarism, similar conclusions about the regime design as a source of crisis could be drawn. Second, the “perils” of presidentialism are based on a “mechanistic, even caricatured, view of the presidency” (Horowitz

Both Ghana and the Ivory Coast have been colonized in the 19th and 20th century, and both managed to gain their independence peacefully. After gaining their independence Ghana and the Ivory Coast were seen as economic and political models for African countries but facts and statistics from today will show that Ghana has emerged as one of Africa’s most stable democratic countries meanwhile the Ivory Coast is only starting to recover from its last civil war. How can two neighboring countries who have similar pasts at similar time frames become so different? What dependent and independent variable have changed the course these two countries were set out to take? We will answer these two questions and will pay close attention as to how and why these once similar countries became so different.

The successful state intervention can be identified by different methods of state intervention aimed at promoting industrialization. Kohli claims that cohesive-capitalist states have been the most effective in fostering industrialization, specifically in South Korea, neo-patrimonial states being least effective, which existed in Nigeria. The fragmented-multiclass states India, is in between (Kohli, Atul. 2004). Ultimately, the role of different types of colonialism and state intervention effects state development in the developing world.

Over the stretch of the twentieth century, there were a multitude of debates between scholars, academics and countries as to what type of economic would generate the most efficient and productive economies. The two sides to this “battle of ideas” as to what system would be able to give developing countries the greatest prosperity were the sides of liberalism and conservatism. In general, liberalism contends that the government should have an active and interventionist policy towards the economy, accompanied with state involvement and responsibility in the economy. The other side to this great debate is known as “conservatism,” especially in the United States. Conservative economic policy argues for the state to have a smaller

The resource-rich countries are more likely to be authoritarian than democracies (Mikesell, 1997). Other scholars present evidence that democratic government, especially parliamentary democratic, help to avoid resource curse (Damania and Bulte 2003). Unfortunately, the Republic of Angola is ruled by a dominant president and the ruling party; the opposition is marginalized, and elections are “held basically to render legitimacy to the incumbent regime” (Amundsen, 2011). Contrary to popular belief that the dictators are removed by the masses, Svolik presents quantitative data that shows two-third of the dictators were overthrown by the ruling coalition (Svolik, ). Therefore, it is in the dictator 's best interest to buy off important inner circle elites known as the ruling coalition to make sure that he continues to stay in power. Svolik 's findings explain why authoritarian government fuels corruption and has no accountability to the masses and no transparency of the funds. Thus, corruption in Angola is extreme;

The term developmental state has been widely utilised to describe any state experiencing a period of economic development and improvement in living standards (Pham, 2012). One of the most significant arguments in this scope is the performance of developmental state model. A number of scholars have attempted to investigate this issue and arguments can be divided into three categories. Proponents of state intervention indicate that the state plays an indispensable role in directing economic development and utilising the resources of the country to achieve development goals. On the contrary, those who oppose state-led model argue

President Yahya Jammeh’s ruling party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), has been in office since 1996 as the renamed armed forces’ provisional council that took office after the 1994 coup which toppled the liberal democratic government that had been in power since independence. This followed Gambia’s promulgation of a constitution which provides for multi-party democracy and other basic democratic, as well as fundamental human rights and freedoms Elections are held every 5 years; hence in 1996; 2001; 2006; and 2011 the country held Presidential and Parliamentary elections. The APRC has emerged victorious in all these elections. However, the free-ness and fairness of these elections remains contested because of intimidation by ruling-party functionaries and incumbency advantages the president and his party enjoy (Perfect 2010). The opposition is sufficiently suppressed, through rare but unconcealed random

The idea is that there is a centrality between the mode of government and the economy. The economy is a sub structure of society and this substructure determines the overall structure of the society, including politics. Democracy is primary in economic development as it is a facilitator of economic development. Democracy provides the basic foundation for economic development and values such as the, freedom of speech, rule of law, freedom of association, separation of powers and protection of human rights provide an institutional setting and process for economic development. Democracy facilitates economic liberation, provides mobilization of resources and provides a better environment for economic development (Gerring, Thacker & Alfaro 2012).

Economy and State: A Sociological Perspective, written by Nina Bandelj and Elizabeth Sowers, explains the economic foundation of the state by discussing the governance of property and money, in correlation to labor and firms, ending in economic development and internationalization/globalization. Bandelj and Sowers’, target audiences for this book seemed to be intended for those individuals wanting to learn the basics of economics from an economic sociology perspective allowing readers to broaden their minds, while drawing comparisons from the political economy and economic sociology. This book was written with clear language for the audience to understand and comprehend the large amount of traditional economic theory information within its condensed size, as well as introducing a sense of economic sociology in to the mix. Both Bandelj and Sowers separate their book into eight chapters: ranging from property and money, labor and firms, development and the international global economy, before its conclusion. Authors Nina Bandelj and Elizabeth Sowers, provide a wonderful analysis between economy and sociology by breaking down the study of economics including the production, distribution, consumption, and exchange of goods and services and its direct correlation to social networks, cultural reality so to speak, and political and social forces.

Kohli argues that the state capacity of India, Nigeria, and South Korea have been molded by their different colonial experiences and that forceful state intervention enhances rapid economic growth. To have successful state intervention, a state needs to agree on market reinforcement policies and profit for private investors, as well as maintain cooperation between the private sector and the state (Kohli, 2004). While this method did exist and work for South Korea, Botswana experienced a different type of state intervention with minimal colonial

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa faces many challenges regarding its operational & logistical capabilities. These challenges become even more apparent during the national, provincial and municipal elections. Being able to maintain a neutral stance in its behaviour and ensure that employees adhere to the strict IEC guidelines, is an uphill battle in a country that is mired with corruption scandals and other nefarious behaviour even within the top echelons of the government. Who is to say whether 'party loyalty', financial incentives or political pressure will have an adverse effect on the vote 'count'? Truly, the weight of heavy expectations are placed upon the IEC to have an incorruptible and fair judgment when carrying out its duties during the election.