Tag Archives: democracy

The claim that democracy fares better in the West than in Africa is a mistake | STEVEN FRIEDMAN | One day, if they follow instructions, Africa’s new democracies will grow up to be “real” like those of Western Europe and North America. This assumption makes little sense – but it …

  Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s upcoming presidential elections are the sixth to be held since civilian rule was restored in 1999 and the first to involve voters with no experience of military government. AFP spoke to some first-time voters in Africa’s most populous country to find out what …

`The real test of democracy is when an incumbent party or candidate or both lose an election and power’ NRM programme point No.1: Democracy Moses Khisa is a Political scientist and Assistant Professor of Political Science in the School of Public and International Affairs at North Carolina State University. He …

Kampala, Uganda | NIC CHEESEMAN | Africa is often imagined to be a place in which presidents can do whatever they want, unencumbered by constitutional or democratic constraints. A large body of literature has developed around the idea that the law can be flouted at will, leading to a situation …

Why it is a loss for any democracy Kampala, Uganda | GLENDA DANIELS | The newspaper industry in many countries is in the doldrums. Retrenchments have become the norm with experienced journalists who specialise in a particular reporting area – known as “beat reporting” – are among the first to …

Taking democratic temperature as a dozen countries prepare for polls Kampala, Uganda | JOHN J STREMLAU | Visiting Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand More than a dozen national elections will be held across Africa next year. All 55 members of the African Union (AU) are obligated to hold …

America’s ideals of freedom, democracy, and justice for all are now under open attack COMMENT | JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ | The United States has long held itself up as a bastion of democracy. It has promoted democracy around the world. It fought, at great cost, for democracy against fascism in Europe …

Autocrats and counterfeit democrats have perfected the art of rigging polls to stay in power — without breaking any laws.  Kampala, Uganda | NIC CHEESEMAN & BRIAN KLAAS | In Ukraine’s 2004 presidential election, droves of voters turned out in opposition strongholds, hoping to oust the incumbent, Viktor Yanukovych. Upon arrival …

Far-right politicians like Trump and Bolsonaro have exploited frustration-fanned anger, tribalism COMMENT | KAUSHIK BASU | Jair Bolsonaro, the president-elect of Brazil, is a far-right, gun-loving, media-baiting hyper-nationalist. The fact that he would be right at home among many of today’s global leaders – including the leaders of some of the …

Reporters need be allowed to work because silencing them increases crimes and threatens democracy COMMENT | ROBERT MAHONEY | What does it cost to silence a muckraking reporter? In the Philippines, officials needed just $250 in 2011 to buy the services of a journalist-slaying gunman. In Slovakia, Ján Kuciak and his …