Learning about Democracy in Africa
Awareness, Performance, and Experience
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6231686 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Mattes (0000-0003-0567-9385, University of Cape Town), Michael Bratton (Michigan State University) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 192-217 |
| Publication date | 2007-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00245.x |
| OpenAlex | W2158134461 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 218 |
| References cited | 110 |
Conventional views of African politics imply that Africans' political opinions are based either on enduring cultural values or their positions in the social structure. In contrast, we argue that Africans form attitudes to democracy based upon what they learn about what it is and does. This learning hypothesis is tested against competing cultural, institutional, and structural theories to explain citizens' demand for democracy (legitimation) and their perceived supply of democracy (institutionalization) with data from 12 Afrobarometer attitude surveys conducted between 1999 and 2001. A multilevel model that specifies and estimates the impacts of both individual‐ and national‐level factors provides evidence of learning from three different sources. First, people learn about the content of democracy through cognitive awareness of public affairs. Second, people learn about the consequences of democracy through direct experience of the performance of governments and (to a lesser extent) the economy. Finally, people draw lessons about democracy from national political legacies
Democracy · Direct democracy · European Social Survey · Institutionalisation · Legitimation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology
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Participation and political equality
The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion
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Sustainable Democracy
Impersonal Influence
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Africa's Growth Tragedy
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Democratization Backwards
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| Unique citing works | 218 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 11,47 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2026 (20) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 217 |