Parties, Political Finance, and Governance in Africa - Softcover

Rachel, Sigman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009262823 ISBN 13: 9781009262828

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2024

Synopsis

A major challenge for the advancement of democratic governance in Africa is the extraction of money by ruling parties from the state to fund their electoral campaigns and gain political advantage over opponents. Drawing upon in-depth case studies of Benin and Ghana, Rachel Sigman considers how, and with what consequences, party leaders control and access public funds to finance their political operations. Weaving together biographical data on government ministers, surveys of civil servants, elite interviews, and archival research, Sigman explains leaders' extraction strategies and connects these strategies to how politicians manage state personnel. In so doing, she challenges the perception of African states as uniformly weak and argues that effective government is possible even in contexts of widespread state politicization, corruption, and clientelism. Demonstrating the profound impact that extractive financing practices have on democratic institutions, Sigman illuminates and develops our understanding of “good governance” across the African continent.

About this title

About the Author

Rachel Sigman is Assistant Professor of Democratic Governance at the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and Project Manager with the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at the University of Gothenburg. She previously served as an assistant professor at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009262823
• ISBN 13: 9781009262828
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 330