Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

• Main Author: Munetsi, Ashley W
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2011
• Subjects: Democracy; Africa; Ghana; Kenya; Congo; African Studies; Comparative Politics; International and Area Studies
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/115; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1193&context=cmc_theses

Democracy's advance on the African continent has been mixed, this article analyzes three countries which reflect this situation. Ghana represents the good, a country now considered a liberal democracy; Kenya represents the bad, although possessing the right conditions to advance its democracy the country has slid into an ambiguous zone; the Democratic Republic of Congo represents the ugly, after showing initial promise it still has significant issues halting its burgeoning democratic progress. These three countries represent the prototypical situations facing democratizing Sub-Saharan countries and analyzing them can inform what factors aid or have hindered democratic progress not only for them but the region in general.