The moral economy of elections in Africa : democracy, voting and virtue / Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch, Justin Willis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cheeseman, Nic, 1979- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Election law--Africa.

Election law.

Democracy--Africa.

Democracy.

Voting--Africa.

Voting.

Elections--Moral and ethical aspects--Africa.

Elections.

Elections--Economic aspects--Africa.

Africa--Politics and government.

Africa.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 359 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Summary:

Do elections turn people into democratic citizens? Elections have long been seen as a way to foster democracy, development and security in Africa, with many hoping that the secret ballot would transform states. Adopting a new approach that focusses on the moral economy of elections, Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch and Justin Willis show how elections are shaped by competing visions of what it means to be a good leader, bureaucrat or citizen. Using a mixed-methods study of elections in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, they explore moral claims made by officials, politicians, civil society, international observers and voters themselves. This radical new lens reveals that elections are the site of intense moral contestation, which helps to explain why there is such vigourous participation in processes that often seem flawed. Demonstrating the impact of these debates on six decades of electoral practice, they explain why the behaviour of those involved so frequently transgresses national law and international norms, as well as the ways in which such transgressions are evaluated and critiqued - so that despite the purported significance of 'vote-buying', the candidates that spend the most do not

Contents:

Towards a moral economy of elections in Africa

Elections, states and citizens : a history of the ballot in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda

National exercises : making states and citizens through the ballot

The eyes of the world are upon us : the aspirations and limitations of international election observation

Creating democrats : civil society and voter education

Performing virtue : politicians, leadership, and election campaigns

Navigating multiple moralities : popular expectations and experiences of the polls

Conclusion : the electoral fallacy revisited.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 18 Dec 2020).

ISBN:

1-108-26583-9

1-108-26512-X

OCLC:

1237403260