Presidential Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa
Explaining Variation Among Semi-Presidential Countries
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7973033 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sophia Moestrup (0000-0002-4399-7643), Thomas Sedelius (0000-0001-6594-5804) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 97-113 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Studies Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1478-9299 • E-ISSN: 1478-9302 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/14789299231204555 |
| OpenAlex | W4387672304 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 28 |
This article seeks to explain variations in presidential activism in semi-presidential countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa is one of the continents where semi-presidentialism is most prevalent, but the dynamics of intra-executive relations are severely understudied. The four case studies discussed here—the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Cabo Verde, and São Tomé e Príncipe—belong to the premier-presidential subtype. In this exploratory study, we aim to examine how institutional dimensions of premier-presidentialism interact with contextual factors to explain variations in presidential activism among Sub-Saharan African countries. In addition to fundamental contextual differences among the two pairs of countries, francophone and lusophone, there are specific institutional factors associated with the design and operation of premier-presidentialism that contribute to greater presidential activism in the two francophone cases. Taken together, these contextual and institutional factors skew effective executive power heavily toward the president in our francophone countries. We also find that the degree of political institutionalization matters for the impact of presidential activism on intra-executive conflict and government policymaking capacity. The article increases our understanding of the operation of semi-presidentialism in this understudied region, underscoring the importance of both contextual and constitutional factors for explaining variations in presidential activism in Africa
Democracy · French · Geography · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Presidential system · Sociology · International Development and Aid · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Political Systems and Governance
Introducing the comparative semi-presidential database (CSPD)
Towards Conflict or Compromise? Intra-Executive Dynamics in Normal Times and Covid-19 Period in Semi-Presidential Democracies
Presidential legislative initiatives under semi-presidentialism
Cohabitation and presidential powers
Intra-executive competition as a way to build political trust
Semi-presidentialism and war
Presidential Activism
Semi-Presidentialism Outside Europe
Coalitional Presidentialism in Comparative Perspective
Political Leadership
Presidential Activism and Veto Power in Central and Eastern Europe
Semi-Presidential Systems
Cabinet ministers under competing pressures
African exceptions
The Failure of Cohabitation
Transitions to democracy, institutional choices and party system stability
Two decades of semi-presidentialism
Big Men’ Rule
The Presidential Party
Winning the Game of Thrones
Semi-presidentialism, Cohabitation and the Collapse of Electoral Democracies, 1990–2008
Organizing to rule
Unravelling semi-presidentialism
Maximizing the Reliability of Cross-National Measures of Presidential Power
São Tomé and Príncipe 1975-2015
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |