Preventing Electoral Violence in Africa

This book was inspired by a simple truth: no person should face death to cast a vote nor for the choice made. The ability of a country to successfully conduct non-violent elections is a crucial indicator of the consolidation of its democracy and a necessary condition for free and fair citizen participation. Unfortunately, democratization is rarely a smooth path. The competition and contestation characteristic of the entire electoral process can, in the extreme, result in the electoral violence that we have seen rage starkly in different countries around the world. In Africa, with its high degrees of societal and cultural diversity, and relatively weaker mediating institutions, electoral violence remains a crucial challenge that requires deeper investigation and collective action to address. With 30 African countries holding elections in 2011, and another 20 scheduled for 2012 elections, this book is especially timely for policy-makers, scholars, civic leaders and activists interested in ending deadly violence and advancing democracy.

—from the Introduction

Jendayi E. Frazer

Jendayi E. Frazer is a Distinguished Public Service Professor and Director of the Center for International Policy and Innovation (CIPI) at Carnegie Mellon University, which co-organized the Conference on Preventing Electoral Violence in Africa. She is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Frazer has served in government as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and US Ambassador to South Africa.

E. Gyimah-Boadi

E. Gyimah-Boadi is the Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), a think tank focusing on good governance in Africa, which co-organized the Conference on Preventing Electoral Violence in Africa. He is also the Executive Director of the Afrobarometer and a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon. Dr. Gyimah-Boadi has served as a consultant on Ghanaian and African democratization and economic reform with the World Bank, the UNDP, USAID, the African Development Bank and the Global Coalition for Africa.

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