In 2015, Nigeria's voters cast out the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Here, A. Carl LeVan traces the political vulnerability of Africa's largest party in the face of elite bargains that facilitated a democratic transition in 1999. These 'pacts' enabled electoral competition but ultimately undermined the party's coherence. LeVan also crucially examines the four critical barriers to Nigeria's democratic consolidation: the terrorism of Boko Haram in the northeast, threats of Igbo secession in the southeast, lingering ethnic resentments and rebellions in the Niger Delta, and farmer-pastoralist conflicts. While the PDP unsuccessfully stoked fears about the opposition's ability to stop Boko Haram's terrorism, the opposition built a winning electoral coalition on economic growth, anti-corruption, and electoral integrity. Drawing on extensive interviews with a number of politicians and generals and civilians and voters, he argues that electoral accountability is essential but insufficient for resolving the representational, distributional, and cultural components of these challenges.
| ISBN: | 9781108459747 |
| Publication date: | 17th January 2019 |
| Author: | A. Carl (American University, Washington DC) LeVan |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 300 pages |
| Genres: |
Pressure groups, protest movements and non-violent action Public opinion and polls Elections and referenda Political structures: democracy Political structures: totalitarianism and dictatorship Political economy Political parties and party platforms |