Claiming Democracy: Are Voters Becoming Citizens in Africa?

By Carolyn Logan and Michael Bratton

The political transitions that allowed many Africans to experience a degree of citizenship have been major achievements of the past quarter-century. But power corrupts, no less than before, and new democratic governments can corrode from the inside out. Advances in political accountability depend on Africans claiming democracy, a powerful notion articulated by Carolyn Logan and Michael Bratton. Afrobarometer survey data enable them to evaluate the progress or regress of this vital dimension of African states.

 

“The Power is in the Street”: The Context of State Failure in Mali

By Bruce Whitehouse

In his essay on Mali, Bruce Whitehouse of Lehigh University shows how failures of elected leaders, state institutions, and external donors can shift power to the streets and an uncertain contest among armed forces.

 

The Democratic Awakening in Africa, 1990-1995

In the first essay of the Africa Demos Forum, Dr. Richard Joseph introduces the Forum and recalls its inspiration, the Africa Demos bulletin of the Carter Center of Emory University. In reflecting on the pioneering work of Africa Demos, Dr. Joseph sets the stage for the Forum’s essays on key topics and specific country experiences in democracy-building. The Forum will promote an active exchange of information and ideas.

 

President Barack Obama and Africa’s Uncompleted Journey, Part II

With a second term secured, and decades of authority and influence ahead in his post-presidency, President Obama can become a transformative leader in Africa.[i] On March 7, 2013, Senator Chris Coons, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, issued a report that echoed the increasing call for the United States to enhance its economic engagement with Africa. Now is also the time, he said, “to ensure that America’s economic engagement policy toward Sub-Saharan Africa is coordinated, comprehensive and effective.” [ii]  The six recommendations in his report coincide with the points made in this essay. The moment is opportune for the Obama Administration to put forward an American Agenda for Africa that is bold, innovative, and inspiring. The Agenda responds to the question posed in the first part of this essay: “How should President Obama most usefully invest his authority and talents and marshal Americans to engage with the positive trends and opportunities?”

 

By: Richard Joseph

President Barack Obama and Africa’s Uncompleted Journey, Part I

A public meeting of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on February 28 will consider the question, “President Obama and Sub-Saharan Africa: Just Right or Not Enough?”  Several commentaries which demonstrate the increasing demand for enhancing American engagement with Africa are provided on the Council’s website.[i] 

 

Africa is an ineluctable part of Mr. Obama’s legacy and he brings to African affairs a unique understanding of its constraints. “With better governance,” he declared in Ghana in July 2009, “Africa holds the promise of a broader base of prosperity”. Millions of Africans today are constructing the pillars of that prosperity. How President Obama can engage the United States in deepening this process, in ways that are mutually beneficial, should summon forth ideas that are feasible and also consonant with his philosophy of government. In the first of a two-part essay, I will show how this debate relates to ideas for bolstering a liberal international order. In the second part, I will elaborate on specific policy priorities.[ii]

 

By: Richard Joseph

 

Discordant Development and Insecurity in Africa

Richard Joseph explores how “discordant development”—deepening inequalities and rapid progress juxtaposed with group distress— is often one of the root causes of uncertainty, insecurity and violent conflict in Africa.  For example, Mali and Ghana have experienced similar growth rates but Mali is sundered and in disarray, while Ghana has experienced both political and economic progress.

 

Joseph discusses the causes of discordant development and provides recommendations for how policymakers can begin tackling this problem in order to address broader issues of insecurity. He warns development officers and political leaders against viewing Africa solely through “polarizing lenses,” either screening out security challenges in growing economies or overlooking axes of growth in conflict-plagued societies.

 

The article can be read below, or here on the Brookings Institution’s site.

 

 

Council on Foreign Relations: President Obama and Sub-Saharan Africa

In his most recent article, Richard Joseph analyzes the Obama administration’s June 2012 policy paper on Africa and provides specific policy recommendations for the President’s second term. This article was written as a guest post for John Campbell’s ‘Africa in Transition’ blog on the Council of Foreign Relations’ website. It can be read below, or on the Council’s website here.