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Archive for January, 2010

Nigeria’s Looming Constitutional Crisis

Leadership Vacuum On January 27, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of the EU, France, and the United Kingdom in a joint statement called upon Nigeria to “resolve the question of governing authority in the president’s prolonged absence,” since “Nigeria’s stability and democracy can carry great significance beyond its immediate borders.”  How [...]

January 28, 2010 · admin · No Comments
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• FEATURED RESEARCH: “Questioning Tocqueville in Africa”

  "Questioning Tocqueville in Africa: Continuity and Change in Civil society During Nigeria’s Democratization"

  Alexis de Tocqueville's influence on the democratization literature has encouraged the idea that transitions require an independent civil society. However this view reifies boundaries between state and society, and it over-predicts civil society confrontation with governments. Drawing upon Hegel, I develop a model that clusters organizations according to goal orientation and autonomy. I then examine civil society during Nigeria’s democratization. I attribute changes in autonomy and goal orientation of organizations to transnational organizing, coalition building, and repression. My findings question the assumption that autonomous organizations will challenge the state.

  (This article appears in the February 2011 issue of Democratization, vol. 18, no. 1)