APCG Online Colloquium on July 2nd 2024: Barriers to Democratic Consolidation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Focusing on Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia

Our next APCG Online Colloquium will be held on 2nd July at 10M EST/ 2PM GMT. It will feature work by Janek Sunga (Northern Illinois University) entitled “Barriers to Democratic Consolidation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Focusing on Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia”. The full paper abstract is below. Our discussants will be Sebastian Elischer (University of Florida) and Thalia Gerzso (London School of Economics). Please sign-up here: https://forms.gle/vC9Y6z29FNGSnhxN6

Title: Barriers to Democratic Consolidation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Focusing on Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia

Abstract: This paper examines the role of party systems and vanguard nationalist parties as barriers to democratic consolidation in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study examines three cases studies: Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. All three countries are third wave democracies that have failed to make the transition from electoral democracies to liberal democracies. The paper presents an explanation of the role of party systems and vanguard nationalist parties in either deepening democracy or acting as a barrier to democracy. Ghana’s democratic consolidation is stronger since it has always managed to maintain multipartyism built on programmatic parties. Democratic consolidation has proceeded a slower rate in both Kenya and Zambia because of the dominance of their vanguard nationalist parties even after multipartyism. Ghana was able to get rid of its vanguard party much earlier. Kenya and Zambia had difficulties getting rid of their vanguard parties. The paper uses a mixed methods approach. It consists of comparative historical analysis of three country cases studies using survey data, archival data, socio-biographical details, interviews, and fieldwork. A dataset is used to show the persistence of vanguard nationalist parties through several governments.

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