Learning about Democracy in Africa: Awareness, Performance, and Experience
Journal Article
2003
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Authors
Journal Title
American Journal of Political Science
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Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Publisher
University of Cape Town
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Faculty
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Abstract
Conventional views of African politics imply that Africans arrive at political opinions largely on the basis of their positions in the social structure or enduring cultural values. In contrast, we argue that Africans form attitudes to democracy based upon what they learn about what it is and what it does. We test this argument with a unique data set known as Afrobarometer Round 1, which is based on surveys of nationally representative samples of citizens in 12 African countries that have recently undergone political reform. Specifically, we test our learning hypothesis against competing sociological and cultural theories to explain citizens' demand for democracy (legitimation) and the perceived supply of democracy (institutionalization). We provide 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 also draw lessons about democracy from their country's national political legacies.
Description
Reference:
Mattes, R., & Bratton, M. (2007). Learning about democracy in Africa: Awareness, performance, and experience. American Journal of Political Science, 51(1), 192-217.