230 research outputs found
Context matters : rethinking the resource curse in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textNatural resources in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from a bad reputation. Oil and diamonds, particularly, have been blamed for a number of Africa’s illnesses such as poverty, corruption, dictatorship and war. This paper outlines the different areas and transmission channels of how this so-called “resource curse” is said to materialize. By assessing empirical evidence on sub-Saharan Africa it concludes that the resource curse theory fails to sufficiently explain why and how several countries have not or only partly been affected by the “curse”. Theoretically, the paper argues that whether or not natural resources are detrimental to a country’s socio-economic and political development depends on a number of contextual variables, divided into country-specific conditions and resource-specific conditions (type, degree/level of abundance and dependence, resource revenue management, involved companies etc.). Methodologically, a future research agenda needs to examine the complex interplay of these contextual variables by adding sophisticated comparative research designs, especially “small and medium N” comparisons, to the tool box which has been widely confined to the juxtaposition of “large N” and country case studies.Natürliche Ressourcen im subsaharischen Afrika haben zweifellos einen schlechten Ruf. Insbesondere Öl und Diamanten werden für eine Reihe von Afrikas Problemen wie Armut, Korruption, Diktatur und Krieg verantwortlich gemacht. Wissenschaft und Öffentlichkeit haben diese angenommenen negativen Effekte den „Ressourcenfluch“ genannt. Das Papier fasst zunächst die wesentlichen Argumente des Ressourcenfluchs zusammen. In empirischer Hinsicht schlussfolgert das Papier, dass die entsprechenden Hypothesen nicht erklären können, wie und warum einige Fallbeispiele vom Fluch nicht oder nur teilweise erfasst wurden. In theoretischer Hinsicht wird argumentiert, dass sich negative Effekte nur unter bestimmten Kontextbedingungen verwirklichen, die in allgemeine länderspezifische Bedingungen und ressourcenspezifische Bedingungen zu unterteilen sind (Typ, Grad an Abhängigkeit und Reichtum, Management des Ressourcensektors, beteiligte Konzerne etc.). In methodischer Hinsicht sollte künftige Forschung das komplexe und dynamische Zusammenspiel dieser Kontextvariablen durch sorgfältige vergleichende Studien, insbesondere so genannte „Small and Medium N“-Vergleiche, einfangen, welche die bisher dominierende Beschränkung auf „large N“-Studien einerseits und Einzelfallstudien anderseits ergänzen
Context Matters – Rethinking the Resource Curse in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textNatural resources in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from a bad reputation. Oil and diamonds, particularly, have been blamed for a number of Africa’s illnesses such as poverty, corruption, dictatorship and war. This paper outlines the different areas and transmission channels of how this so-called “resource curse” is said to materialize. By assessing empirical evidence on sub-Saharan Africa it concludes that the resource curse theory fails to sufficiently explain why and how several countries have not or only partly been affected by the “curse”. Theoretically, the paper argues that whether or not natural resources are detrimental to a country’s socio-economic and political development depends on a number of contextual variables, divided into country-specific conditions and resource-specific conditions (type, degree/level of abundance and dependence, resource revenue management, involved companies etc.). Methodologically, a future research agenda needs to examine the complex interplay of these contextual variables by adding sophisticated comparative research designs, especially “small and medium N” comparisons, to the tool box which has been widely confined to the juxtaposition of “large N” and country case studies.Sub-Saharan Africa; Natural Resources, Political Economy, Institutions, Violent Conflict, Socio-Economic Development; Democracy
Context Matters – Rethinking the Resource Curse in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textNatural resources in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from a bad reputation. Oil and diamonds, particularly, have been blamed for a number of Africa’s illnesses such as poverty, corruption, dictatorship and war. This paper outlines the different areas and transmission channels of how this so-called “resource curse” is said to materialize. By assessing empirical evidence on sub-Saharan Africa it concludes that the resource curse theory fails to sufficiently explain why and how several countries have not or only partly been affected by the “curse”. Theoretically, the paper argues that whether or not natural resources are detrimental to a country’s socio-economic and political development depends on a number of contextual variables, divided into country-specific conditions and resource-specific conditions (type, degree/level of abundance and dependence, resource revenue management, involved companies etc.). Methodologically, a future research agenda needs to examine the complex interplay of these contextual variables by adding sophisticated comparative research designs, especially “small and medium N” comparisons, to the tool box which has been widely confined to the juxtaposition of “large N” and country case studies.Sub-Saharan Africa; Natural Resources, Political Economy, Institutions, Violent Conflict, Socio-Economic Development, Democracy
Replication Data for: Basedau, Deitch, Zellman (2022) Rebels with a Cause, Journal of Conflict Resolution
No full textReplication Data for: Basedau, Deitch, Zellman (2022) Rebels with a Cause, Journal of Conflict Resolutio
Votes, money and violence : political parties and elections in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textFollowing the (re-)introduction of multiparty systems in Africa in the early 1990s, third and fourth elections in Africa's new democracies and hybrid regimes are now being seen. Although there is a large and growing literature on democracy and elections in Africa, parties and party systems have hitherto not been the focus of research, which may be surprising given their central role in a liberal democracy. The early works from the 1960s and 1970s provide neither a sound conceptual nor empirical basis. Research on political parties and party systems in Africa is still in its infancy. Various contributions in this volume address the theoretical and conceptual challenges provided by the African parties and party systems with their particular features of weak organisation, informal relationships dominated by 'big men' and clientelism within a neopatrimonial setting. Others raise the crucial question of representation in relation to ethnicity, civil society and gender, or look into the empirical relationship between party systems and democracy. Further chapters ask questions about the appropriate electoral system for the multiethnic context in Africa and deal with the problem of electoral system reform. Finally, there are chapters which focus on the neglected area of electoral violence, and the moral role of money and vote buying is scrutinized through a case study. An important conclusion is that party research in Africa needs more conceptual clarity as well as empirical research particularly on party organisation, voting behaviour, and the role of ethnicity.Most of the contributions to this volume are based on early versions of the papers presented at the Thematic Conference of the Africa–Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies (AEGIS) ‘How People Elect Their leaders. Parties, Party Systems and Elections in Africa South of the Sahara’ 22–23 May 2003, Hamburg.CONTENTS: Introduction: Research on Electoral Systems, Parties and Party Systems in Africa / Gero Erdmann, Matthias Basedau and Andreas Mehler -- Political Parties, Elections and Patronage: Random Thoughts on Neo-Patrimonialism and African Democratization / E. Gyimah-Boadi -- Party Research: western European Bias and the ‘African labyrinth’ / Gero Erdmann -- Political Parties in Africa: Different, Functional and Dynamic? Reflections on Gero Erdmann’s ‘Party Research: western European Bias and the “African labyrinth’” / Peter Burnell -- Political Parties in Africa and the Representation of Social Groups / Vicky Randall -- Do Party Systems Matter for Democracy? A Comparative Study of 28 Sub-Saharan Countries / Matthias Basedau -- Paths of Electoral Reform in Africa / Christof Hartmann -- Electoral Systems, Party Systems and Ethnicity in Africa / Matthijs Bogaards -- Political Parties and Violence in Africa: Systematic Reflections against Empirical Background / Andreas Mehler -- Insights into Electoral Violence in Africa / Liisa Laakso -- Banknotes and Symbolic Capital: Ghana’s Elections Under the Fourth Republic / Paul Nugent -- Conclusion: The Research Agenda Ahead / Gero Erdmann, Matthias Basedau and Andreas Mehler</p
Votes, money and violence : political parties and elections in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textFollowing the (re-)introduction of multiparty systems in Africa in the early 1990s, third and fourth elections in Africa's new democracies and hybrid regimes are now being seen. Although there is a large and growing literature on democracy and elections in Africa, parties and party systems have hitherto not been the focus of research, which may be surprising given their central role in a liberal democracy. The early works from the 1960s and 1970s provide neither a sound conceptual nor empirical basis. Research on political parties and party systems in Africa is still in its infancy. Various contributions in this volume address the theoretical and conceptual challenges provided by the African parties and party systems with their particular features of weak organisation, informal relationships dominated by 'big men' and clientelism within a neopatrimonial setting. Others raise the crucial question of representation in relation to ethnicity, civil society and gender, or look into the empirical relationship between party systems and democracy. Further chapters ask questions about the appropriate electoral system for the multiethnic context in Africa and deal with the problem of electoral system reform. Finally, there are chapters which focus on the neglected area of electoral violence, and the moral role of money and vote buying is scrutinized through a case study. An important conclusion is that party research in Africa needs more conceptual clarity as well as empirical research particularly on party organisation, voting behaviour, and the role of ethnicity.Most of the contributions to this volume are based on early versions of the papers presented at the Thematic Conference of the Africa–Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies (AEGIS) ‘How People Elect Their leaders. Parties, Party Systems and Elections in Africa South of the Sahara’ 22–23 May 2003, Hamburg.CONTENTS: Introduction: Research on Electoral Systems, Parties and Party Systems in Africa / Gero Erdmann, Matthias Basedau and Andreas Mehler -- Political Parties, Elections and Patronage: Random Thoughts on Neo-Patrimonialism and African Democratization / E. Gyimah-Boadi -- Party Research: western European Bias and the ‘African labyrinth’ / Gero Erdmann -- Political Parties in Africa: Different, Functional and Dynamic? Reflections on Gero Erdmann’s ‘Party Research: western European Bias and the “African labyrinth’” / Peter Burnell -- Political Parties in Africa and the Representation of Social Groups / Vicky Randall -- Do Party Systems Matter for Democracy? A Comparative Study of 28 Sub-Saharan Countries / Matthias Basedau -- Paths of Electoral Reform in Africa / Christof Hartmann -- Electoral Systems, Party Systems and Ethnicity in Africa / Matthijs Bogaards -- Political Parties and Violence in Africa: Systematic Reflections against Empirical Background / Andreas Mehler -- Insights into Electoral Violence in Africa / Liisa Laakso -- Banknotes and Symbolic Capital: Ghana’s Elections Under the Fourth Republic / Paul Nugent -- Conclusion: The Research Agenda Ahead / Gero Erdmann, Matthias Basedau and Andreas Mehler</p
Sleep_Bark_Bite_IASR_Appendix_1910 – Supplemental material for Sleep, bark, or bite: Do natural resources make the difference regarding peaceful or violent conflict?
No full textSupplemental material, Sleep_Bark_Bite_IASR_Appendix_1910 for Sleep, bark, or bite: Do natural resources make the difference regarding peaceful or violent conflict? by Matthias Basedau and Vita Roy in International Area Studies Review</p
Replication Data for: Fox, Mishali-Ram, Zellman, and Basedau (2023) Mobilizing for Jihad, Terrorism and Political Violence
No full textReplication Data for: Fox, Mishali-Ram, Zellman, and Basedau (2023) Mobilizing for Jihad, Terrorism and Political Violenc
Supplemental Material - Rebels with a Cause: Does Ideology Make Armed Conflicts Longer and Bloodier?
No full textSupplemental Material for Rebels with a Cause: Does Ideology Make Armed Conflicts Longer and Bloodier? by Matthias Basedau, Mora Deitch, and Ariel Zellman in Journal of Conflict Resolution</p
Promoting Peace and Democracy through Party Regulation? Ethnic Party Bans in Africa
No full textSince the sweeping (re)introduction of multiparty systems in the early 1990s almost all sub-Saharan countries have introduced bans on ethnic or – in more general terms – particularistic parties. Such party bans have been neglected in research, and this paper engages in a preliminary analysis of their effects on democracy and peace. Theoretically, particularistic party bans can block particularisms from entering politics but also run the risk of forcing groups to resort to extra-legal or violent means. Neutral or context-dependent effects are also possible. Applying macro-qualitative comparison and bivariate statistics on the basis of a unique inventory of party bans and readily available indicators for the dependent variables, no simple connection can be detected. Rather, context conditions seem to be of superior explanatory power. We also find a systematic connection between party bans and variables that could be conceptualized as the causes of their implementation.Sub-Saharan Africa, party bans, ethnicity, conflict, democracy
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