Matthijs Bogaards

Matthijs Bogaards is professor of political science at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. This essay is a shorter version of a chapter that will appear in Renske Doorenspleet and Lia Nijzink’s edited volume Political Parties, Party Systems and Democracy in Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

October 2013, Volume 24, Issue 4

Exchange: Reexamining African Elections

Do even unfree and unfair elections in sub-Saharan Africa, if repeated often enough, really contribute to democratization? A fresh look at the evidence casts doubt on the theory of “democratization by elections.”