Crafting political institutions in Africa : electoral systems and systems of government in Rwanda and Zambia compared

Scholars of institutional design attribute large importance to the choice of new institutions. The comparative analysis of how Rwanda and Zambia crafted their new electoral systems and the systems of government regards procedural, structural and rational choice variables which may influence the option for particular solutions. External influences and the type of transition are determinants that can decide which actors make their interests prevail. The degree of innovation or conservatism of new institutions is mainly a result of the speed of the process and the kind of actors involved. However, rational reflections on how to produce legitimacy and minimize personal risks which take into consideration the state of conflict in the country decide on the speed and on innovative outcomes. The structured analysis of only two cases uncovers already that it is rather difficult to realise the transfer of design recommendations into reality.Die große Zahl an Veröffentlichungen zum Thema „institutional design” zeigt, welche Bedeutung die Politikwissenschaft der Wahl neuer politischer Institutionen beimisst. Diese vergleichende Untersuchung der Institutionengestaltung in Ruanda und Sambia berücksichtigt historisch-prozessuale, strukturelle und interessenorientierte Variablen, die auf die Entscheidung für bestimmte Wahl- und Regierungssysteme Einfluss ausüben können. Es zeigt sich, dass externe Faktoren und der Verlaufstyp der Transition entscheidend darauf einwirken können, welche Akteure in der Lage sind, ihre Interessen durchzusetzen. Die Prozessgeschwindigkeit und die Struktur der beteiligten Akteure sind maßgebend dafür, wie innovativ oder konservativ die neuen Institutionen gestaltet werden. Das Interesse an Legitimität und persönlicher Risikominimierung bestimmen wiederum die Prozessgeschwindigkeit und die Gestaltung innovativer Institutionen. Diese rationalen Entscheidungen berücksichtigen dabei die Konfliktsituation im Lande. Der strukturierte Vergleich zweier Fälle legt nahe, dass der Transfer von Empfehlungen des institutional design als schwierig gelten muss

Crafting Political Institutions in Africa. Electoral Systems and Systems of Government in Rwanda and Zambia Compared

Scholars of institutional design attribute large importance to the choice of new institutions. The comparative analysis of how Rwanda and Zambia crafted their new electoral systems and the systems of government regards procedural, structural and rational choice variables which may influence the option for particular solutions. External influences and the type of transition are determinants that can decide which actors make their interests prevail. The degree of innovation or conservatism of new institutions is mainly a result of the speed of the process and the kind of actors involved. However, rational reflections on how to produce legitimacy and minimize personal risks which take into consideration the state of conflict in the country decide on the speed and on innovative outcomes. The structured analysis of only two cases uncovers already that it is rather difficult to realise the transfer of design recommendations into reality.institutions, institutional design, transition, electoral system, Rwanda, Zambia

The Power of Proximity: Strategic Decisions in African Party Politics

Recent publications suggest that exclusively ethnoregional parties are as rare in sub- Saharan Africa as elsewhere. At the same time, the idea that ethnicity is a very special feature of African party politics persists. The paper acknowledges the general relevance of ethnicity in party competition but emphasizes the level on which it becomes important. It develops a microbehavioral approach which pays particular attention to the strategic choices of party elites in order to supplement the dominant structuralist thinking in party research on Africa. An in-depth evaluation of detailed election data from Burkina Faso shows that strategies which rely on personal proximity between the voter and the candidates influence the parties’ success to a great extent. Parties maximize their chances of winning seats if they concentrate their limited resources on the home localities of leading party members. Hence, African party politics are less dependent on ethnic demography than is often implied but more open to change through elite behavior.political parties, Burkina Faso, elections, local mobilization, resource efficiency, son of the soil

The Effects of Electoral Institutions in Rwanda: Why Proportional Representation Supports the Authoritarian Regime

While much has been written about the special design of Rwanda’s judiciary in order to handle the aftermath of the genocide in 1994, other institutional actions resulting from the 2003 constitution have rarely been addressed in research. However, the second (partial) par-liamentary elections in September 2008 revealed some of the implications which the care-fully designed electoral system has for Rwanda’s political development. As a starting point, the paper emphasises the need to link the debates on institutional design in divided societies with elections in authoritarian regimes. Under different regime types, “institutional engi-neers” may pursue different goals. The paper concludes that in the case of Rwanda propor-tional representation (PR) has been implemented to support undemocratic goals. PR limits the local accountability of politicians in a political environment in which the government is not controlled by a democratic opposition. Thus, Rwanda’s current PR system facilitates the maintenance of authoritarian power in the country, whereas small constituencies would es-tablish closer links between the local populations and their representatives.Rwanda, electoral authoritarianism, electoral system, parliament, constituency size

Improving Academic Achievement in Primary Students Through a Systemic Approach to Guidance and Counseling

Christopher Sink and Heather Stroh have authored Improving Academic Achievement in Primary Students Through a Systematic Approach to Guidance and Counseling. This monograph, which is published by the Washington School Research Center, reports the results of a statewide study of the impact of Comprehensive Developmental School Counseling programs on elementary students’ academic achievement. WSRC is an independent research and data analysis center within Seattle Pacific University. The Center’s mission is to conduct sound and objective research on student learning in the public schools, and to make the research findings available for educators, policy makers, and the general public for use in the improvement of schools

Measuring Party Institutionalization in Developing Countries: A New Research Instrument Applied to 28 African Political Parties

The institutionalization of political parties is said to be important for democratic development, but its measurement has remained a neglected area of research. We understand the institutionalization of political organizations as progress in four dimensions: roots in society, level of organization, autonomy, and coherence. On this basis we construct an Index of the Institutionalization of Parties (IIP), which we apply to 28 African political parties. The IIP uses extensive GIGA survey and fieldwork data. Initial results reveal a more differentiated degree of institutionalization than is commonly assumed. In addition to illustrating overall deficits in party institutionalization, the IIP highlights an astonishing variance between individual parties and—to a lesser extent—between national aggregates. Further research on party institutionalization remains necessary, particularly regarding its causes and consequences.Political parties, sub-Saharan Africa, institutionalization, stability, legitimacy

Ethnicity and Party Systems in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite earlier assumptions that ethnicity is a central feature of African party systems, there is little substantial evidence for this claim. The few studies with an empirical foundation rarely rely on individual data and are biased in favor of Anglophone Africa. This paper looks at four Francophone countries, drawing on four representative survey polls in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Multivariate regression models and bivariate control tools reveal that ethnicity matters as a determinant of party preference, but that its impact is generally rather weak and differs with regard to party systems and individual parties. “Ethnic parties” in the strict sense are almost completely absent, and only the Beninese party system is substantially “ethnicized.” In particular, regional ties between voters and leaders—rather than ethnic affiliation alone—deserve attention in the future study of voting behavior in Africa.political parties, ethnic groups, voting intentions, multivariate logistic regression