After a failed democratic experiment in 1993-96 and two military coups, Niger successfully held free and fair elections in 1999. The next couple of years will be crucial to the long-term survival of democracy.
About the Authors
John Uniack Davis
John Uniack Davis is development assistance coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Niamey, Niger. Previously, he was a democratic governance consultant in Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Tanzania.
Aboubacar B. Kossomi is political assistant at the U.S. Embassy in Niger. The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and should not be taken as an expression of U.S. government policy.
A decade after the end of apartheid, South African democracy may be headed for trouble because the country has yet to fulfill the three requirements of democratic consolidation: inequality-reducing economic…
The interplay between elections, popular protests, and international pressures has a profound effect on the behavior of African autocrats and their ability to stay in power even after their time…
