Abstract

In comparative politics, economic development is a requisite to democracy (Lipset, 1959).   Democracy is deemed to fail in less developed countries as poverty has proven to be detrimental to democratic performance. This study offers a perspective on the effects of poverty on the fate of democracy in Africa. Models are estimated for the Poverty-Democracy linkages using variables derived from merged Afrobarometer survey data (2002-2018). The results indicate that poverty in Africa has a mixed effect on democracy more generally. In particular, the analysis indicates that the experience of poverty, which we have termed ‘lived poverty’, has a negative effect on demand and supply of democracy as well as on a number of attributes of political participation. The fact that the poor demand democracy less than the well-to-do while at the same time perceiving limited supply of democracy, in our view explains why more African regimes are consolidating as hybrid regimes instead of moving towards democratic consolidation

Pages (from-to)	1-18
Volume	12
Issue number	1
Publication status	Published - 2024