ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the experiences of selected countries in introducing or sustaining political regimes essentially based on the liberal democratic model. One criterion for selection is that they these countries are significant examples of cases where there were high hopes among people in and outside Africa of creating democratic societies on the continent. Senegal is included because, alongside Botswana and Mauritius, it has long enjoyed the reputation of being the longest-lived liberal regime in the region. The chapter provides a theoretical framework that relates political leadership to the political, social and economic legacies inherited at the time of decolonization. The term 'corruption' is often used to describe a broad range of activities involving the direct or indirect use of public authority or power. Objective cultural, structural and economic conditions clearly set the context within which contemporary African political leadership is best analyzed.
