ABSTRACT
When it comes to studying the relationship between development and democracy, sub-Saharan Africa offers unique challenges. Not only is this part of the world the poorest in per capita terms. It is also peripheral to mainstream economic processes and as such less likely to be positively influenced by the factors that have helped promote democracy in more developed country settings (Burkhart and LewisBeck 1994). Sub-Saharan Africa is also made up of an unusually large number of countries, virtually all of which are multi-ethnic and multi-religious. What is more, the modern state institutions were established by colonial powers and have been retained after independence despite their lack of validity, if not legitimacy, when it comes to individual political behaviour and choice. One of the most frequent points made about politics in Africa is its ‘informality’ or lack of adherence to formal institutions. This means that official data are not really collected with the same degree of discipline and precision as is the case with civil administration in other countries. Getting a handle on what is really happening in the field of African democratisation, therefore, is difficult. In spite of a growing number of studies on the subject, our understanding is still at best very general and not at all robust.
