Publication
Title
War and democracy : the legacy of conflict in East Africa
Author
Abstract
The historical literature on statebuilding in Europe has often portrayed a positive relationship between war, state making and long-term democratisation. Similarly, a number of large-n quantitative studies have concluded that war promotes democracy even in cases of civil war. Against this, a growing area studies literature has argued that violent conflict in developing countries is unlikely to drive either statebuilding or democratisation. However, this literature has rarely sought to systematically set out the mechanisms through which war undermines democracy. Contrasting three high conflict cases (Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda) with two low conflict cases (Kenya and Tanzania) in East Africa, we trace the way in which domestic conflict has undermined three key elements of the democratisation process: the quality of political institutions, the degree of elite cohesion, and the nature of civil-military relations. Taken together, we suggest that the combined effect of these three mechanisms helps to explain why Kenya and Tanzania have made significantly greater progress towards democratic consolidation than their counterparts and call for more in-depth research on the long-term legacy of conflict on democratisation in the African context.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of modern African studies. - Cambridge, 1963, currens
Publication
Cambridge : 2018
ISSN
0022-278X [print]
1469-7777 [online]
DOI
10.1017/S0022278X17000623
Volume/pages
56 :1 (2018) , p. 31-61
ISI
000427027500004
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 09.03.2018
Last edited 09.10.2023
To cite this reference