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Majority Rule and Minority Rights: American Federalism and African Experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Barbara Thomas-Woolley  and
Edmond J. Keller
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Extract

With the demise of the Soviet Union and the fall of many authoritarian régimes, some observers suggest that we are in the midst of what can be called a worldwide democratic revolution. Although questions remain as to the durability of these changes, particularly in Africa, it is clear that we are at a cross-roads. Nations are considering what kinds of political institutions they want to replace those they are trying to dismantle. What, at this historical moment, is the special appeal of democracy in the non-Western world? Is it the promise of individual freedom? or popular elections designed to give all citizens a say in who governs? or the prospect of guaranteed individual and group rights?

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , September 1994 , pp. 411 - 427
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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