Struggle for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This article seeks explanation for the success and failures of the process of democratization in sub-Saharan Africa. Point of departure is the idea that the distribution of power resources is crucial in this respect. The comparative analysis confirms this idea, both on the global level as for the sub-Saharan countries. The cross-national variation within Africa is discussed on the case-level, which allows to take other explanations like violence and ethnicity into account.