Review by Choice Review
In this first-rate former dissertation, Riedl (Northwestern Univ.) asserts that the nature of authoritarian regimes significantly influences the strength of ensuing democratic governments. She focuses on four states: Benin, Ghana, Senegal, and Zambia, chosen from the 23 democratic countries in Africa. Riedl's impressive fieldwork included more than 260 interviews, analysis of election results, surveys of political elites, and more. She notes that other analysts stress factors to explain democratization issues in contemporary Africa, such as economic development, colonial legacies, the political saliency of ethnicity, or electoral systems. Riedl concentrates instead on incorporation and neutralization of local elites into state structures by outgoing authoritarian governments. Well-established democratic systems, exemplified by Ghana and Senegal, develop more effective, stable regimes with fewer political parties. Less well-established systems, such as Benin or Zambia, were characterized before transition by governmental efforts to neutralize local authorities via state-sponsored organizations, rather than incorporate them into authoritarian systems. Elections there were marked by unstable party systems and limited voter participation. Riedl traces the global implications of her findings, which confirm Samuel Huntington's 1968 emphasis on the importance of institution building. An excellent bibliography and useful tables and figures add to Riedl's book's utility. --Claude E. Welch, University at Buffalo, SUNY
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
