Democracy in Africa

Booklaunch of Democracy in Africa which provides the 1st comprehensive overview of the history of contemporary democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa and explains why the continent's democratic experiments have so often failed, as well as how they could succeed. Speakers: Professor Nic Cheeseman, Oxford University; Professor Stephen Chan OBE, SOAS; Dr Phil Clark, SOAS. Chaired by Professor Catherine Boone, LSE. Beginning in the colonial period with the introduction of multi-party elections and ending in 2013 with the collapse of democracy in Mali and South Sudan, the book describes the rise of authoritarian states in the 1970s; the attempts of trade unions and some religious groups to check the abuse of power in the 1980s; the remarkable return of multiparty politics in the 1990s; and finally, the tragic tendency for elections to exacerbate corruption and violence.

During this event the author Professor Nic Cheeseman and a panel of experts will explore some of the most important questions facing Africa and democracy today in the wake of recent events in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.