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Support for Democracy in Africa: Intrinsic or Instrumental?

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  • BRATTON, MICHAEL
  • MATTES, ROBERT

Abstract

Comparative analysis of original survey data from Ghana, Zambia and South Africa is used here to assess the attitudes of African citizens towards democracy. Is democracy valued intrinsically (as an end in itself) or instrumentally (for example, as a means to improving material living standards)? We find as much popular support for democracy in Africa as in other Third Wave regions but less satisfaction with the performance of elected governments. The fact that Africans support democracy while being discontented with its achievements implies a measure of intrinsic support that supersedes instrumental considerations. At the same time, approval of democracy remains performance-driven; but approval hinges less on the government's capacity at delivering economic goods than its ability to guarantee basic political rights. Our findings extend recent arguments about the importance of political goods in regime consolidation and call into question the conventional wisdom that governments in new democracies legitimate themselves mainly through economic performance.

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  • Bratton, Michael & Mattes, Robert, 2001. "Support for Democracy in Africa: Intrinsic or Instrumental?," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 447-474, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:31:y:2001:i:03:p:447-474_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Xun Gong & Shenggang Yang & Min Zhang, 2017. "Not Only Health: Environmental Pollution Disasters and Political Trust," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-28, April.
    2. Jacobsen, Jannes & Fuchs, Lukas Marian, 2020. "Can We Compare Conceptions of Democracy in Cross-Linguistic and Cross-National Research? : Evidence from a Random Sample of Refugees in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 151(2), pages 669-690.
    3. Chris Bidner & Patrick Francois & Francesco Trebbi, 2014. "A Theory of Minimalist Democracy," NBER Working Papers 20552, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Michael Chasukwa, 2019. "Multiple Faces of Democrats: Satisfaction with Democracy and Support for Democracy in Malawi," Insight on Africa, , vol. 11(1), pages 18-37, January.
    5. Mano, Viktorija, 2021. "Domestic elite support for reforms in transition economies: the case of North Macedonia," SEER Journal for Labour and Social Affairs in Eastern Europe, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 24(2), pages 219-242.
    6. Antoine Bilodeau, 2016. "Migrating Gender Inequalities? Immigrant Women's Participation in Political Survey Research," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(4), pages 951-976, December.
    7. Chang, Alex Chuan-hsien, 2018. "How do Asian values constrain public support for redistribution?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 139-150.
    8. Julián Arévalo B., 2016. "State capacity and support for democracy: challenges and opportunities for post conflict Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo UEC 19536, Universidad Externado de Colombia.
    9. Yue Yin, 2022. "Understanding democratic perceptions and political participation among the younger generation in China's changing society: No news is good news for the Chinese government," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1168-1189, September.
    10. Kenneth E. Fernandez & Michele Kuenzi, 2010. "Crime and Support for Democracy in Africa and Latin America," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(3), pages 450-471, June.
    11. Joseph Yaw Asomah & Eugene Emeka Dim, 2021. "Determinants of citizens’ support for democracy in Ghana," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2578-2590, November.
    12. Christopher Balding, 2011. "A Re-examination of the Relation between Democracy and International Trade: The Case of Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2011-059, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Kai-Ping Huang, 2023. "Support for Democracy in the Age of Rising Inequality and Population Aging," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 27-51, February.
    14. Libman, Alexander & Herrmann-Pillath, Carsten & Yadav, Gaurav, 2013. "Are human rights and economic well-being substitutes? The evidence from migration patterns across the Indian states," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 139-164.
    15. Balding, Christopher, 2011. "A Re-examination of the Relation between Democracy and International Trade The Case of Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 059, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Konte, M., 2014. "Gender difference in support for democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do social institutions matter?," MERIT Working Papers 009, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    17. Bratton, Michael, 2012. "Citizen Perceptions of Local Government Responsiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 516-527.
    18. O. Fiona Yap, 2021. "Local politics for democratic quality and depth: Lessons from South Korea," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(1), pages 5-14, January.
    19. Guoyao Yan & Yu Hao & Yunxia Guo & Haitao Wu, 2022. "Are environmental problems a barometer of corruption in the eyes of residents? Evidence from China," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 337-361, May.
    20. Maty Konte & Stephan Klasen, 2016. "Gender difference in support for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do social institutions matter?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 55-86, April.
    21. Mawussé Komlagan Nézan Okey & Dossè Mawussi Djahini-Afawoubo, 2020. "Voting participation in Togo: the role of access to public services and confidence in public institutions," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 22(2), pages 379-400, December.
    22. Mario Quaranta, 2018. "The Meaning of Democracy to Citizens Across European Countries and the Factors Involved," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 859-880, April.
    23. Jannes Jacobsen & Lukas Marian Fuchs, 2020. "Can We Compare Conceptions of Democracy in Cross-Linguistic and Cross-National Research? Evidence from a Random Sample of Refugees in Germany," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 669-690, September.
    24. Evans, Geoffrey & Rose, Pauline, 2007. "Support for Democracy in Malawi: Does Schooling Matter?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 904-919, May.
    25. Alexander Stoecker, 2021. "Partisanship in a Young Democracy: Evidence from Ghana," Volkswirtschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge 193-21, Universität Siegen, Fakultät Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Wirtschaftsinformatik und Wirtschaftsrecht.

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