Contrary to the widespread perception that Mauritania has moved toward democracy, this troubled country faces continued ethnic tensions and the prospect of increasing repression.
About the Author
Boubacar N’Diaye, a former high-level civil servant in Mauritania, currently teaches black studies and political science at the College of Wooster in Ohio. His most recent scholarly works deal with civil-military relations in Africa, democratization prospects, human rights, and pan-Africanism. He is author of The Challenge of Institutionalizing Civilian Control (2001).
Survey data indicate that Africans support democracy and its formal institutions, but also point to the importance of the informal realm, particularly when formal institutions fail to meet popular expectations.
Halting a decade of democratic backsliding, Haikainde Hichilema defeated an increasingly iron-fisted incumbent president. How did he do it and can others learn from his example?
