Party Proliferation and Political Contestation in Africa

This book analyzes several components of democratization and party competition in West Africa focusing on Senegal a country with one of the longest histories of multiparty elections. It does so in service of examining the origins and consequences of the proliferation of political parties, a trend that has taken hold in Senegal and a variety of other African countries. The author uses novel sources of data to illuminate the economic and political roots of party functions and trajectories by placing party formation, opposition, ruling party loyalty, and presidential turnover into local and regional contexts. This work will appeal to African Studies scholars, professors, graduate students, and policy makers.

Urges social scientists to analyze the local meanings of institutions, grassroots political context, and individual behavior in the analysis of party politics Combines ideas and methods from political science, anthropology, and history, and includes information from over one hundred elite interviews and original party-level data gathered in West Africa Examines the sources of party proliferation as well as the consequences for opposition and contestation, and deciphers what these patterns mean for democratization in Senegal

Autorentext

Catherine Lena Kelly is an Advisor at the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative and a scholar-practitioner in Washington, DC, USA.

Inhalt

1. Chapter 1 Introduction: Party Proliferation and its Consequences in Senegal and Beyond.- 2. Chapter 2 Theories of Party-Building: Africa, Competitive Authoritarianism, and Democracy.- 3. Chapter 3 Party Formation and Proliferation on Senegal's Uneven Playing Field.- 4. Chapter 4 Negotiators or Adversaries? Tracing the Sources of Party Trajectories.- 5. Chapter 5 Defeating Presidents from Within: Regime Insiders and Turnover in Senegal.- 6. Chapter 6 Party Loyalty and Defection from the Ruling Party under Proliferation.- 7. Chapter 7 Conclusion and Notes on Comparative and Policy Perspectives on Party Proliferation in Africa.