Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T04:51:20.231Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Do Ethnic Groups Retain Homogenous Preferences in African Politics? Evidence from Sierra Leone and Liberia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2013

Fodei Batty
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

It is frequently argued that ethnic groups across Alrica retain homogenous preferences stemming from a sense of collective identity and shared destiny, and that they unvaryingly prefer the same outcomes in zero-sum competitions for scarce resources. This article presents results from comparative field surveys examining these claims in Sierra Leone and Liberia following postconflict elections. In contradiction with conventional expectations, the results show corroboration on several issues across voters from several ethnic groups as well as heterogeneity in preferences among voters from the same ethnic groups in both countries. The implications for democratization and conflict resolution in Africa are discussed. E-mail: [email protected]

Résumé:

Résumé:

On avance souvent que les groupes ethniqucs à travers l'Afrique conservent des préférences d'homogénéité provenant d'un sens d'identité collective et d'une destinée partagée, et qu'ils favorisent les mêmes opinions dans la concurrence pour les ressources limitées. Cet article présente les résultats de sondages comparalifs mettant en question ces affirmations en Sierra Leone et au Libéria, à la suite du vote d'élections après un conflit. Contre toute attente, les résultats montrent un esprit de collaboration sur plusieurs questions entre les membres d'ethnies différentes, ainsi que des différences d'opinion entre les membres des mêmes ethnics, dans les deux pays, Cet article aborde les implications de la démocratisation et des processus de résolution des conflits en Afrique.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , April 2011 , pp. 117 - 143
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdullah, Ibrahim, ed. 2004. Between Democracy and Terror: The Sierra Leone Civil War. Dakar: Council for Development Research in Africa.Google Scholar
Basedau, Matthias, Erdmann, Gero, and Mehler, Andreas, eds. 2007. Votes, Money and Violence: Political Parlies and Elections in Sub-Saharan Africa. Uppsala: Nordic African Institute.Google Scholar
Bayart, Jean-Francois. 1903. The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Bekker, Simon, Dodds, Marline, and Khosa, Meshak, eds. 2002. Shifting African Identities. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.Google Scholar
Berman, Bruce, Eyoh, Dickson, and Kymlicka, Will, eds. 2004. Ethnicity and Democracy in Africa. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Bratton, Michael. 1992. “Zambia Starts Over.” Journal of Democracy 3: 81–94.Google Scholar
Bratton, Michael, and van de Walle, Nicholas. 1997. Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cartwright, John. 1978. Political leadership in Sierra Leone. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Chandra, Kachan, and Wilkinson, Steven. 2008. “Measuring the Effect of “Ethnicity.” Comparative Political Studies, 41: 515–63.Google Scholar
Clapham, Christopher. 1976. Liberia and Sierra Leone: An Essay in Comparative Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Conteh-Morgan, Earl. 1997. Democratization in Africa: The Theory and Dynamics of Political Transitions in Africa. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.Google Scholar
Cowen, Michael, and Laakso, Liisa, eds. 2002. Multi-Parly Elections in Africa. New York: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Diamond, Larry, Linz, Juan, and Lipset, Seymour Martin, eds. 1988. Democracy in Developing Countries. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duverger, Maurice. 1954. Political Parties: Their Activity and Organization in the Modern State. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Gberie, Lansana. 2005. A Dirly War in West Africa: The RUFand the Destruction of Sierra Letone. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Gerkie, Russell. 1993. “Kenya: Split Decision.” Africa Report (March/April): 13–19.Google Scholar
Harris, David. 1999. “From ‘Warlord’ to ‘Democratic’ President: How Charles Taylor Won the 1997 Liberian Elections.” Journal of Modern African Studies 37: 431–55.Google Scholar
Harris, David. 2006. “Liberia 2005: An Unusual African Post-Conflict Election.” Journal of Modern African Studies 44: 375–95.Google Scholar
Hayward, Fred M., ed. 1987. Elections in Independent Africa. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Horowitz, Donald L. 1985. Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, John, and Smith, Anthony D.. 1996. Ethnicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Joseph, Richard, ed. 1999. State, Conflict and Democracy in Africa. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Joseph, Richard, ed. 1991. Africa: The Rebirth of Political Freedom.” Journal of Democracy 2: 11–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kandeh, J. D. 2003. “Sierra Leone's Post-Conflict Elections of 2002. The Journal of Modern African Studies 41: 189–216.Google Scholar
Kandeh, Jimmy D. 1992. “Politicization of Ethnic Identities in Sierra Leone” African Studies Review 35: 81–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary, Tomz, Michael, and Wittenberg, Jason. 2000. “Making the Most of Statistical Analysis: Improving Interpretation and Presentation.” American Journal of Political Science 44: 341–55.Google Scholar
Liebenow, J. Gus. 1987. Liberia: The Quest for Democracy. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Lindberg, Staffan I., and Morrison, Minion K. C.. 2008. “Are African Voters Really Ethnic or Clientelistic? Survey Evidence from Ghana.” Political Science Quarterly 123 (1): 95–122.Google Scholar
Lyons, Terrence. 1999. Voting for Peace: Postconflict Elections in Liberia. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Mattes, Robert, and Gouws, Amanda. 1998. “Race, Ethnicity, and Voting Behavior: Lessons from South Africa.” In Elections and Conflict Management in Africa, edited by Sisk, Timothy D. and Reynolds, Andrew, 119–42. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press.Google Scholar
Moran, Mary H. 2006. Liberia: The Violence of Democracy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Niemi, Richard G., and Weisberg, Herbert F., eds. 2001. Controversies in Voting Behavior. Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
Nnoli, Okwudiba., ed. 1998. Ethnic Conflicts in Africa. Dakar: CODESRIA Books.Google Scholar
Nohlen, Dieter, Krennerich, Michael, and Thibaut, Bernhard. 1999. Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Orvis, Stephen. 2001. “Civil Society in Africa or African Civil Society?” In A Decade, of Democracy in Africa, edited by Ndegwa, Stephen N., 17–38. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Ottaway, Marina. 1999. “Ethnic Politics in Africa: Change and Continuity.” In State, Conflict and Democracy in Africa, edited by Joseph, Richard, 299–317. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Oyediran, Oyedele, and Agbaje, Adigun. 1991. “Two Partyism and Democratic Transition in Nigeria.” Journal of Modern African Studies 29: 213–35.Google Scholar
Posner, Daniel. 2005. Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Posner, Daniel. 2007. “Regime Change and Ethnic Cleavages in Africa.” Comparative Political Studies 40: 1302–27.Google Scholar
Reno, William. 1995. Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone. New York: Cambridge University Press Google Scholar
Reynolds, Andrew, ed. 2002. The Architecture of Democracy: Constitutional Design, Conflict Management, and Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Prunier, Cerard. 1995. The Rwanda Crisii 1959–1994: History of Genocide. London: Hurst.Google Scholar
Salih, Mohamed M. A. 2001. African Democracies and African Politics. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Sawyer, Amos. 2008. “Emerging Patterns in Liberia's Post-Conflict Politics: Observations from the 2005 Elections.” African Affairs 107: 177–99.Google Scholar
Sisk, Timothy D., and Reynolds, Andrew, eds. 1998. Elections and Conflict Management in Africa. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press.Google Scholar
Udogu, Emmanuel I., ed. 2001. The Issue of Political Ethnicity in Africa. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Van de Walle, Nicolas. 2003. “Presidentialism and Clientelism in Africa's Emerging Party Systems.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 41: 297–322.Google Scholar
Young, Crawford, ed. 1993. The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism: The Nation-Stale at Bay? Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar