ABSTRACT
This chapter overviews leadership changes on the continent between 1990 and 2013 with a special reference to opposition victories. It presents the theoretical framework that is used to test the hypothesis regarding the determining role of coalition building in opposition victories. The chapter takes stock of the preceding discussions and offers some complementary points to help further elucidate us on the subject matter. There are two main ways to assess leadership changes in a given region: one is to see how leaders 'came' to power; and the other one is to establish how leaders 'left' power. The chapter discusses two main theoretical frameworks in order to understand various aspects of the subject matter and to test the two hypotheses. First is the neo-institutional theory as presented by authors such as James March, Johan Olsen, Peter Hall, Rosemary Taylor and Mamoudou Gazibo. Second is the theories of coalition formation or games theory–which are related to rational choice or strategic theories.
