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Accountability, Transparency, and Freedom of Expression in Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID4188068
AuthorsAgnès Callamard (corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume77
Issue4
Pages1211-1240
Publication date2010-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-783X • E-ISSN: 1944-768X
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/sor.2010.0016
OpenAlexW115933271
LanguageEN
Citations received9

In this article I set out the relationship between freedom of expression, including transparency, and accountability; offer an overview of the current state of these issues in Africa; and identify the implications for stronger accountability. I present the profound and real changes that took place in Africa, specifically in the areas of press freedom and free speech, particularly in the 1990s, but I also argue that there remain much unfinished business and many unfulfilled promises, including stalled legal reform, limited media pluralism, and a lack of political will to move from the rhetoric of transparency to its reality. It is in this context that a global human rights recession has struck. I show that the observed global human rights setback applies with equal force to Africa. The setback has not necessarily been greater in Africa than elsewhere, but neither has it been less visible or less marked. In fact, in an environment characterized by weak political institutions and a nascent, and thus fragile democratization process, it is probable that this setback will take longer to reverse

Accountability · Context (archaeology) · Democracy · Democratization · Epistemology · Geography · Human rights · Law and economics · Pluralism (philosophy) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rhetoric · Setback · Sociology · Transparency (behavior) · Corruption and Economic Development · Human Rights and Development · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law

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Unique citing works9
Citations per year0,75
Citation span2014 - 2026 (13)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 8

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