Violence in African Elections

The holding of multiparty elections has become the bellwether by which all democracies are judged, and the spread of such systems across Africa has been widely hailed as a sign of the continent's progress towards stability and prosperity. But such elections bring their own challenges, not least of w [...]
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The holding of multiparty elections has become the bellwether by which all democracies are judged, and the spread of such systems across Africa has been widely hailed as a sign of the continent's progress towards stability and prosperity. But such elections bring their own challenges, not least of which is the often intense internecine violence which can follow disputed results, such as that seen recently in Kenya, Ivory Coast and elsewhere. The consequences of such violence can be profound, undermining the legitimacy of the democratic process, and in some cases plunging countries into civil war or renewed dictatorship. And yet we know very little about the causes of this violence. By mapping, analysing and comparing instances of election violence in different localities across Africa, this collection of detailed case studies sheds light on the underlying dynamics behind electoral conflicts, revealing them to be the result of a complex interplay between democratisation and the older, patronage-based system of 'Big Man' politics.In doing so, the contributors provide insights into why some localities and communities prove more prone to electoral violence than others, and offer practical suggestions for preventing such violence through improved electoral monitoring, voter education, and international assistance.