Lived Poverty and the Fate of African Democracies
In comparative politics, economic development is a requisite to democracy (Lipset, 1959). Democracy is deemed to fail in less developed countries as poverty has proven to be detrimental to democratic performance. This study offers a perspective on the effects of poverty on the fate of democracy i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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UJ Press
2024-09-01
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| Series: | African Journal of Political Science |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/ajps/article/view/1391 |
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| author | Edson Ntodwa Boniface Dulani Mwayi Masumbu |
| author_facet | Edson Ntodwa Boniface Dulani Mwayi Masumbu |
| author_sort | Edson Ntodwa |
| collection | DOAJ |
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In comparative politics, economic development is a requisite to democracy (Lipset, 1959). Democracy is deemed to fail in less developed countries as poverty has proven to be detrimental to democratic performance. This study offers a perspective on the effects of poverty on the fate of democracy in Africa. Models are estimated for the Poverty-Democracy linkages using variables derived from merged Afrobarometer survey data (2002-2018). The results indicate that poverty in Africa has a mixed effect on democracy more generally. In particular, the analysis indicates that the experience of poverty, which we have termed ‘lived poverty’, has a negative effect on demand and supply of democracy as well as on a number of attributes of political participation. The fact that the poor demand democracy less than the well-to-do while at the same time perceiving limited supply of democracy, in our view explains why more African regimes are consolidating as hybrid regimes instead of moving towards democratic consolidation
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aedb86724a2f43eda2e292363f0a49fe |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1027-0353 1726-3727 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
| publisher | UJ Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | African Journal of Political Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-aedb86724a2f43eda2e292363f0a49fe2025-01-06T13:30:45ZengUJ PressAfrican Journal of Political Science1027-03531726-37272024-09-0112110.36615/th0tz035Lived Poverty and the Fate of African DemocraciesEdson Ntodwa0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0619-5518Boniface Dulani1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0281-3000Mwayi Masumbu2Institute of Public Opinion and ResearchUniversity of MalawiInstitute of Public Opinion and Research In comparative politics, economic development is a requisite to democracy (Lipset, 1959). Democracy is deemed to fail in less developed countries as poverty has proven to be detrimental to democratic performance. This study offers a perspective on the effects of poverty on the fate of democracy in Africa. Models are estimated for the Poverty-Democracy linkages using variables derived from merged Afrobarometer survey data (2002-2018). The results indicate that poverty in Africa has a mixed effect on democracy more generally. In particular, the analysis indicates that the experience of poverty, which we have termed ‘lived poverty’, has a negative effect on demand and supply of democracy as well as on a number of attributes of political participation. The fact that the poor demand democracy less than the well-to-do while at the same time perceiving limited supply of democracy, in our view explains why more African regimes are consolidating as hybrid regimes instead of moving towards democratic consolidation https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/ajps/article/view/1391DemocracyAfrobarometerLived PovertyPolitical ParticipationEconomic development |
| spellingShingle | Edson Ntodwa Boniface Dulani Mwayi Masumbu Lived Poverty and the Fate of African Democracies African Journal of Political Science Democracy Afrobarometer Lived Poverty Political Participation Economic development |
| title | Lived Poverty and the Fate of African Democracies |
| title_full | Lived Poverty and the Fate of African Democracies |
| title_fullStr | Lived Poverty and the Fate of African Democracies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lived Poverty and the Fate of African Democracies |
| title_short | Lived Poverty and the Fate of African Democracies |
| title_sort | lived poverty and the fate of african democracies |
| topic | Democracy Afrobarometer Lived Poverty Political Participation Economic development |
| url | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/ajps/article/view/1391 |
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