This groundbreaking collection offers the first book-length contribution to ongoing debates around how election monitors can best support genuine democratic elections in Africa.
In a three-part structure covering international observers, their domestic counterparts, and the consequences of observation, its chapters draw on a unique methodology rooted in deep, field-based research to offer detailed looks at election observation in ten African countries. All of this is articulated by predominantly African country-experts hailing from a variety of disciplinary and professional backgrounds, all of whom are gathered together by Thomas Molony, one of very few academics with extensive work experience of election observation in Africa. This variety of coverage and perspectives, combined with the book’s unique methodology, sheds new light on concerning shifts in the relationship between African organisations and their Western counterparts, on questions over the credibility and independence of citizen observation groups, and on assumptions about the influence of election observation on democracy in Africa. Cumulatively, these insights add up to important, unique contributions to ongoing debates about the neo-imperial dimensions of international election observation, not just within Africa, but also in other parts of the Global South.
For its unique focus on Africa, its broad geographical coverage within Africa, and its significance for wider debates around international election observation, Election Observation at a Crossroads: Perspectives from Africa is a must-read for students and researchers interested in African politics and development, as well as for those interested in African studies, development, and politics more generally.
Introduction,Thomas Molony
Part 1. International Election Observation
1. Shifting Dynamics: The politics of election observation
Anna Mwaba, Assistant Professor of Government, Smith College, USA
2. Diplomatic Relations and International Election Observation: The case of Zimbabwe 2000-2018
Kgalalelo Nganje, Elections Officer, Botswana Independent Electoral Commission, Botswana
3. Africa’s Elections and the Need for Reconceptualising the International Election Observation Paradigm: From adhocism to institutionalisation
Koffi Sawyer, Doctoral researcher, School of Government, University of Birmingham, UK
4. International Election Observation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Elections: Exploring the past to shape the future
Cedrick Mulumba, Research Fellow, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, Australia
Part 2. Citizen Election Observation
5. The Gatekeeping of Election Legitimacy: Reviewing the election observation architecture in Africa using the 2023 Nigerian elections as a case study
Afolabi Adekaiyaoja, Research Analyst, Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa, Nigeria
6. “I Have Changed so That Angola May Change”: Citizen election observers in post-war authoritarian Angola
Claudia Generoso de Almeida, Research Fellow, IPRI-NOVA, New University of Lisbon, Portugal
7. Domestic Observation Missions and Kenya's 2022 Elections: BOGs, COGs or FOGs?
Thomas Molony, Senior Lecturer, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK
Part 3. The Influence of Election Observation
8. Election Observation Statements and Domestic Perceptions of Fraud and Violence in Kenya’s 2022 Elections
Morgan Wack, PhD Candidate in Political Science, University of Washington, USA
9. Do Election Observer Statements Influence Public Opinion?: A case study of Zambia
Robert Macdonald, Research Fellow, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK
10. Understanding the Implementation of Election Observation Recommendations in Sub-Saharan Africa
Eloïse Bertrand, Research Fellow, Centre for European and International Studies Research, University of Portsmouth, UK; Susan Dodsworth, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Department of International Development, University of Birmingham, UK; Jamie Hitchen, Canada-based independent researcher
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