Responsiveness in Botswana Politics

Do Elections Matter

Bibliographic Data

ID3142244
AuthorsAndreas Danevad (corresponding author)
Year1995
Volume33
Issue3
Pages381-402
Publication date1995-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Modern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-278X • E-ISSN: 1469-7777
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0022278x00021170
OpenAlexW2001934992
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited19

Prospectsfor political change figure prominently on the research agenda in sub-Saharan Africa, and in current debates within individual countries. Democracy is advocated not only as a goal in itself, since it is also frequently argued that elections and openness are required to make governments really responsive to the needs of the population and properly accountable for their actions. In addition, greater transparency is held to be necessary in order to make the public service behave in accordance with bureaucratic norms. Although the general principles of responsiveness, accountability, and transparency are embraced by a large number of scholars and observers of the African scene as a means of countering the detrimental effects of clientelism and personalistic rule, important nuances are found in the literature with regard to the way in which democracy is perceived to facilitate economic development in general, and presently needed reforms in particular

Accountability · Bureaucracy · Clientelism · Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Openness to experience · Order (exchange) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · Transparency (behavior) · Corruption and Economic Development · International Development and Aid · Law · Natural Resources and Economic Development · Psychology · Public Administration · Social Psychology