Support for democracy in Africana : intrinsic o instrumental?
By: BRATTON, Michael
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Contributor(s): MATTES, Robert.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: 2001British Journal of Political Science 31, 3, p. 447-474Abstract: Comparative analysis of original survey data from Ghana, Zambia and South Africa is used here to assess the attitudes of African citizens towards democracy. Is democracy valued intrisically (as an end in itself) or instrumentally ( for example, as a means tor improving material living standards)? We find as much popular support for democrcy in Africa as in other. Third Wave regions but less satisfaction with the performance of elected governments. The fact that Africans suport democracy while being discontented with it s achievements implies a mesure of intrinsic support that supersedes instrumental considerations. At the same time, approval of democracy remains performance-driven; but approval hinges less on the government`s capacity at delivering economic goods than its ability to guarantee basic political rights. Our findings extend recent arguments about the importance of political goods in regime consolidation and call into question the conventional wisdom that government in new democracies legitimate themselves mainly through economic performance
| Item type | Current location | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Periódico | Biblioteca Graciliano Ramos | Periódico | Not for loan |
Comparative analysis of original survey data from Ghana, Zambia and South Africa is used here to assess the attitudes of African citizens towards democracy. Is democracy valued intrisically (as an end in itself) or instrumentally ( for example, as a means tor improving material living standards)? We find as much popular support for democrcy in Africa as in other. Third Wave regions but less satisfaction with the performance of elected governments. The fact that Africans suport democracy while being discontented with it s achievements implies a mesure of intrinsic support that supersedes instrumental considerations. At the same time, approval of democracy remains performance-driven; but approval hinges less on the government`s capacity at delivering economic goods than its ability to guarantee basic political rights. Our findings extend recent arguments about the importance of political goods in regime consolidation and call into question the conventional wisdom that government in new democracies legitimate themselves mainly through economic performance
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