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The effects
of leadership strategies on underdevelopment in sub-Saharan
Africa: A comparative perspective
Mathieu Petithomme
European University Institute, Department of Political and
Social Sciences, Badia Fiesolana, Via dei Roccettini, 9,
50014 San Domenico di Fiesole, Italy.
E-mail:
mathieu.petithomme@eui.eu
Accepted 24 December, 2009 |
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This article looks at the impact of leadership strategies on
underdevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in a
comparative perspective. Using survey data from the World
Bank, the Afrobarometer and the freedom house index, it
refutes the conventional developmental argument,
demonstrating that the effect of economic growth on poverty
reduction is more balanced than usually recognized. It also
shows that even though SSA experienced rapid democratization
changes in the early 1990s, democratic standards have
stagnated globally since then, forging patterns of
unfinished transitions. The empirical analysis illustrates
the poor perceived record of African politicians and a clear
gap between the general support and the current satisfaction
with democracy in SSA. Finally, the paper points out that
change in democratization are positively related with
changes in lived poverty, underlining that democratic
leadership is even more important in tackling
underdevelopment than economic growth in itself.
Key words:
Leadership, underdevelopment, economic growth,
democratization, Sub-Saharan Africa. |
