How does poverty shape the prospects for consolidating democratic government?
Political analysts have long believed that sustaining democratic government in a poor society is harder than in a relatively wealthy one. This is a sobering thought for all those committed to democracy in Africa.
To explore the political dynamics of poverty, we use data from seven 1999-2000 Afrobarometer surveys in Southern Africa to develop an index of poverty and then test its impact on political attitudes and behaviours critical to democracy.
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