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Archive for March, 2011

Nigeria Prepares for 2011 Elections

Last week Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission called the press corps to announce the figures for the voter registry, which must be must be formally certified no less than 30 days before the election in order to comply with the electoral law. After a busy day of meetings with visiting international delegations, an inter-agency meeting [...]

March 12, 2011 · admin · One Comment
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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)