The Democratic Window of Opportunity: Evidence from Riots in sub-Saharan Africa

Toke Aidt and Gabriel Leon

Cambridge Working Papers in Economics from Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge

Abstract: We show that drought-induced changes in the intensity of riots lead to moves towards democracy in sub-Saharan Africa, and that these changes are often a result of concessions made as a result of the riots. This provides evidence that low-intensity conflict can have a substantial short-run impact on democratic change, and supports the window of opportunity hypothesis: droughts lead to an increase in the threat of conflict, and incumbents often respond by making democratic concessions.

Keywords: Riots; drought; transitions; democracy; autocracy. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D7 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-06-26
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-cdm, nep-gro and nep-pol
Note: tsa23
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Working Paper: The Democratic Window of Opportunity: Evidence from Riots in Sub-Saharan Africa (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cam:camdae:1417

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