706 research outputs found
Nic Cheeseman et Jonathan Fischer (2019) - Authoritarian Africa: Repression, Resistance, and the Power of Ideas
No full textCritical review: Nic Cheeseman and Jonathan Fischer, Authoritarian Africa: Repression, Resistance, and the Power of Ideas, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2019, 144 p.Recensé : Nic Cheeseman et Jonathan Fischer, Authoritarian Africa: Repression, Resistance, and the Power of Ideas, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2019, 144 p
How to Rig an Election. By Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018. 320p. $26.00 cloth (Book Review)
No full text“How is it possible that the flourishing of elections has coincided with a decade of democratic decline” (p. 3)? This is the question posed by Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas in How To Rig An Election. A perfecting of the art of election rigging by autocrats (and some democrats), they argue, is one of the key reasons that low-quality elections are becoming the norm (p. 207). “Counterfeit democrats” are having their cake and eating it too, as they not only control the outcome of polls but also do so in a way that garners legitimacy through their compliance with international norms of democratic conduct, the authors posit.No Full Tex
How to hold peaceful elections in South Sudan : a discussion paper
No full textby Nic Cheeseman, Luka Biong, and Edmund Yakan
Coalitional presidentialism in comparative perspective: minority executives in multiparty systems
No full textDocumentation and instructions are archived in PDF. Data files are stored as Excel (.xls). Interview transcripts are stored in Rich Text Format (.rtf)
African exceptions: democratic development in small island states
Full text linkSmall island states are much more likely to have democratic regimes than large continental states. This trend also holds across Africa, where the five island states with populations of 1.5 million or less are all rated at least ‘partly free’ by Freedom House. In this article we explore what it is about being a small island state that might explain this trend. Building on studies from other small island states, we find that the interaction between the two contextual factors is key to explaining their diversion from mainland trends in the African context. Specifically, ‘smallness’ leads to closer links between citizens and politicians in addition to more effective service delivery, while ‘islandness’ promotes community cohesion and provides a buffer against instability and conflict in neighbouring states. This results in a positive feedback loop that guards against authoritarian excess. Our focus on population size and geography thus adds to the existing studies of the contextual drivers of African democratisation.</p
Five lessons for researchers who want to collaborate with governments and development organisations but avoid the common pitfalls
Full text linkThe appeal of collaborating with a government agency, or an organisation funded by one, seems obvious. It provides researchers with much needed resources and information, while also offering practitioners and policymakers a way of generating the evidence needed to design better programmes. In practice, however, it's not always easy to make collaborative research work well. Susan Dodsworth and Nic Cheeseman outline some simple lessons for those looking to collaborate while avoiding the common pitfalls. Ensure the benefits are felt by all involved, maintain a degree of distance and objectivity, protect the quality of consent and your publishing rights, and always choose your partners carefully
Book review: The moral economy of elections in Africa: democracy, voting and virtue by Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch and Justin Willis
No full textIn The Moral Economy of Elections in Africa: Democracy, Voting and Virtue, Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch and Justin Willis explore moral claim-making in elections in Africa, focusing on the electoral history and experiences of Ghana, Uganda and Kenya. This book offers a new way of thinking about election studies in Africa and will guide researchers in understanding the complexities of political subjectivities and how claims of virtue shape political behaviour, finds Sewordor Toklo. The Moral Economy of Elections in Africa: Democracy, Voting and Virtue. Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch and Justin Willis. Cambridge University Press. 2020
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The moral economy of elections in Africa ::democracy, voting and virtue /
No full textDo elections turn people into democratic citizens? Elections have long been seen as a way to foster democracy, development and security in Africa, with many hoping that the secret ballot would transform states. Adopting a new approach that focusses on the moral economy of elections, Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch and Justin Willis show how elections are shaped by competing visions of what it means to be a good leader, bureaucrat or citizen. Using a mixed-methods study of elections in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, they explore moral claims made by officials, politicians, civil society, international observers and voters themselves. This radical new lens reveals that elections are the site of intense moral contestation, which helps to explain why there is such vigourous participation in processes that often seem flawed. Demonstrating the impact of these debates on six decades of electoral practice, they explain why the behaviour of those involved so frequently transgresses national law and international norms, as well as the ways in which such transgressions are evaluated and critiqued - so that despite the purported significance of 'vote-buying', the candidates that spend the most do no
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