Multi-party elections are a salient feature of Africa’s rapidly evolving political landscape. International support for elections is prioritised above all other strategies for consolidating democracy. The legacies of political reform are diverse, and variable. Technology, natural...
In a briefing published on the 50th anniversary of Sierra Leone’s independence, Africa Research Institute examines the causes and history of electoral strife in the country. Every election since independence in 1961 has been attended by violence. Old Tricks, Young Guns: Elections...
Sierra Leone is acclaimed as one of Africa’s most successful post-conflict states. But the country remains fragile. Support for political parties is polarised on ethnic and regional lines, and underwritten by patronage. Youth unemployment is endemic.
As Uganda starts election campaigning, a journalist on the ground raises concerns about growing hostility between supporters of rival factions in Kampala.
Kenya is effectively partitioned by criminal and ethnic violence, triggered by the December 27th presidential ballot. The unrest threatens Kenya’s cohesion as a nation state, with sever consequences for its landlocked neighbours and the East African region. Evidence of...
