Attempts to identify the causes of democratic transitions have been made by studying electoral procedures, electoral outcomes, political rights, and rule of law. Despite the variety of approaches...Show moreAttempts to identify the causes of democratic transitions have been made by studying electoral procedures, electoral outcomes, political rights, and rule of law. Despite the variety of approaches used, no clear mechanism has emerged. Agreement is additionally impeded by incomplete understanding of hybrid regimes, which are preponderant in the Global South. This article argues that contextualised, historicised approaches may be better placed to capture democratic transitions in sub- Saharan Africa. We employ a logistic regression analysis of four rounds of cross-national Afrobarometer survey data within a single-case study of Zanzibar. By juxtaposing assessments of Zanzibar’s status as a democracy onto a critical analysis of its experience with electoral democracy, we attempt to glean associations between democracy and power-sharing. In light of observed regional divergences in assessments of democratic quality, we argue that the question of political inclusion is central to conceptions of democracy in Zanzibar. Furthermore, we urge subsequent scholarship to articulate conceptions of democracy which align with local experiences.Show less
The failure of democratization theory to explain the transitions (or lack thereof) in the post-communist world after the dissolution of the Soviet Union opened a whole field of newly created regime...Show moreThe failure of democratization theory to explain the transitions (or lack thereof) in the post-communist world after the dissolution of the Soviet Union opened a whole field of newly created regime-types for academics to theorize and categorize. Numerous theoretical frameworks have long been applied to analyze the Russian “managed democracy”. Conclusions have followed that Moscow has the tendency to utilize economic and political assets for the perpetuation of their ‘soft-authoritarian’ regime. Exploring the shortages in the existing literature, this paper looks at the applications of the explanatory model of authoritarian behavior, developed by North, Wallis, Webb and Weingast in their book “The Shadow of Violence”. Moreover, this newly developed interpretation of the transition period brings a valuable insight in the mechanisms behind the formation and development of authoritarian and hybrid regimes by evaluating its epistemological and conceptual reasoning in non-Western cultures. While the conventional explanations tend to focus on hybrid regimes as a stable intermediate entities that need to be pushed towards democracy by removing their authoritarian qualities, the conclusions of this paper will focus attention on how authoritarian qualities can be utilized to facilitate a more smooth and non-violent transitions towards democracy. This alternative angle in transitional studies highlights the need for a new approach in policy making when dealing with such regimes.Show less
