The uses of the Afrobarometer in promoting democratic governance

Over the past twenty years, approaches to development in Africa have undergone a fundamental change.
Practitioners no longer regard development as a largely technical exercise. Economic growth and social wellbeing are now rarely seen as simple matters of, say, getting the prices right for maize production or finding a medical cure for guinea worm disease. Instead, we now understand that technical fixes only work well if embedded in a political and organizational infrastructure that generates broad support for policies and ensures the reliable delivery of goods and services. In short, development practitioners now recognize the critical importance of institutions. This Briefing Paper, therefore, draws attention to a few policy-relevant facts and trends about democratic governance drawn from Afrobarometer survey results. 

The paper provides highlights public opinion in such matters as:

• Open elections are the best way to choose leaders; fewer accept the idea of multiparty competition, which some people, especially women, associate with political violence. Africans also broadly accept the idea of presidential term limits
  
• People are recognizing a measure of democratic progress even as they realistically conclude that actual democratic practice is falling short of their dreams
  
• While ordinary people respect the law of the land, they worry that it is applied unevenly, especially to elites who enjoy political positions or connections and they remain frustrated in efforts to get elected officials to attend to their concerns between elections.

The paper also provides the following recommendations and conclusions:

• Elected representatives are deemed more approachable in democracies than in non-democracies. But the positive relationship is weak for this aspect of governance and, substantively, only 30 percent are ever satisfied that leaders listen
  
• To make a reality of democratic governance, policy actors ought to pay closer attention to policy initiatives that address the representation gap
  
• Democratic reforms are relevant everywhere, even in poor countries and post-conflict situations. Others contend that democracy can only take root where a stable and legitimate state is first put in place
  
• Popular appreciation of democracy does not require an economic miracle. Rather it is due to popular appreciation of democracy’s provision of political goods such as free speech and electoral choice
  
• We should not have to wait for the establishment of a legitimate political order before attempting democracy promotion. Instead, the promotion of a democratic regime will itself contribute to the development of a state that is governed by a rule of law.