The Rise of Elective Dictatorship and the Erosion of Social Capital: Peace, Development, and Democracy in Africa.

AuthorLibby, Samantha
PositionBrief article - Book review

THE RISE OF ELECTIVE DICTATORSHIP AND THE EROSION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL: PEACE, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA

Kasahun Woldemariam

(Trenton: Africa World Press, 2009), 354 pages.

Kasahun Woldemariam's book examines the sources of extreme violence, economic disparity and political repression that have become synonymous with governments in Africa. Instead of rehashing old stereotypes, Woldemariam uses the abstract theory of social capital to explore "the Africa question" in a way that categorizes violence and poverty as symptoms of larger phenomena, not as causes of political underdevelopment.

For the author, the crux of Africa's governance problem is that the multiparty elections that dominate the political landscape are meaningless. The argument is that the leaders of most African parties are corrupt elites promoting fictional democracies in order to receive foreign aid, which creates distrust in the international community, discourages foreign investment, weakens public faith in governance and leads to ethnic wars among rival groups trying to control the nation.

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