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Determinants of regime
survival in Africa
Michael Seifu
PhD
Candidate, School of Law and Government, Dublin City
University, Ireland
E-mail: Michael.seifu2@mail.dcu.ie.
Accepted
23 July, 2009 |
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Political instability has arguably been the most important
factor that defined the African political landscape for the
past five post-independence decades. Few countries in the
region were immune from the costly conflicts that afflicted
the region. It is perhaps no surprise then that a growing
volume of literature on African political economy chose to
explain the lacklustre economic performance of the countries
in terms of absence of political stability. However, studies
generally tend to downplay the diversities in the political
economy trajectories of the different countries in the
region. By highlighting one such cross-country variation,
this study analyses the determinants of regime survival in
Africa. More specifically, we apply survival analysis
techniques to identify the institutional features behind
observed differences in regime survival. We find that
colonial legacy as well as level of income is important
determinants of the hazard rates for regime survival in
Africa.
Key
words:
Africa, regime survival, democracy, colonial legacy. |
