On behalf of the Afrobarometer Network, the Department of Political Science and the African Studies Center at Michigan State University are pleased to host a conference on the Micro-Foundations of Mass Politics in Africa.

To date, scholars of African politics have concentrated principally on the deeds -- and misdeeds – of political elites. Studies of mass participation have been largely limited to local cases and have been hampered by a lack of systematic data on public values, attitudes and behavior. The advent of the Afrobarometer, now comprising three rounds of national probability sample surveys in up to 18 African countries, 1999-2006, offers unique opportunities to delve into the foundations of individual political action.

The conference will feature 20 original research papers by leading and emergent scholars from Africa, Europe and the United States. The themes of the papers include electoral participation, ethnic identity, economic wellbeing, social capital, and democratic citizenship. All papers draw evidence from Afrobarometer public opinion data. An edited volume is planned.

Conference program

Geoffrey Evans (Oxford University) and Pauline Rose (University of Sussex), “Schooling and Support for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Testing Mechanisms of Influence”

Carolyn Logan (Michigan State University), “Voters, But Not Yet Citizens: "The Weak Demand for Vertical Accountability in Africa’s Unclaimed Democracies”

Annie Chikwanha (Institute for Security Studies, Nairobi) and Eldred Masunungure (University of Zimbabwe), “Young and Old in sub-Saharan Africa: Who Are the Real Democrats?"

Staffan Lindberg (University of Florida) and Devra Moehler (Cornell University), “More than Huntington's 'Test': Turnovers as Antidotes to Polarization ”

Stanley Khaila and Catherine Mthinda (University of Malawi), “Does Decentralized Despotism Undermine Democratic Citizenship?”

Robert Mattes (University of Cape Town), “Democracy Without People:
Political Institutions and Citizenship in the New South Africa”

Etannibi Alemika (University of Jos), “Quality of Elections, Satisfaction with Democracy, and Political Trust in Africa.”

Martin Battle (Murray State University) and Jennifer Seely (SUNY, Potsdam), “Its All Relative: Competing Models of Vote Choice in Benin”

Karen Ferree and Jeremy Horowitz (University of California, San Diego), “Identity Voting and the Regional Census in Malawi”

Margaret Levi and Audrey Sacks (University of Washington), “Legitimating Beliefs: Sources and Indicators”

Eldred Masunungure (University of Zimbabwe), “Popular Reactions to State Repression: Operation Murambatsvina in Zimbabwe”

Ravi Bhavnani (Michigan State University) and David Backer (College of William and Mary), “Social Capital and Political Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa”

Leonard Wantchekon and Gwendolyn Taylor (New York University), “Political Rights versus Public Goods: Uncovering the Determinants of Satisfaction with Democracy in Africa.”

Lauren Morris McLean (Indiana University), “The Micro-Dynamics of Welfare State Retrenchment and the Implications for Citizenship in Africa”

Carol Graham and Matthew Hoover (Brookings Institution and University of Maryland), “Optimism and Poverty in Africa: Adaptation or a Means of Survival?”

Ben Eiffert, (UC Berkeley). Edward Miguel (UC Berkeley) and Daniel Posner (UCLA), “Political Sources of Ethnic Identification in Africa”

Nicholas Cheeseman and Rob Ford (Oxford University), “Ethnicity as a Political Cleavage”

Wonbin Cho (Michigan State University), “Ethnic Fractionalization, Electoral Institutions, and Africans’ Political Attitudes”

Carrie Konold (University of Michigan), “Perceived Corruption, Public Opinion and Social Influence in Senegal"

Mireille Razafindrakoto and Francois Roubaud (DIAL, Paris), “Corruption, Institutional Discredit, and Exclusion of the Poor: A Poverty Trap (English Version).” (French Version)

Eric Chang (Michigan State University), “Political Transition, Income Inequality, and Corruption in Third Wave Democracies"