221. Party footprints in Africa: Measuring local party presence across the continent
- Author:
- Matthias Krönke, Sarah J. Lockwood, and Robert Mattes
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Afrobarometer
- Abstract:
- The conventional view holds that most of Africa’s political parties are organizationally weak, with little grassroots presence. Yet few studies are based on systematically collected data about more than a handful of parties or countries at any given point. In this paper, we focus on one crucial aspect of party organization – the local presence that enables political parties to engage with and mobilize voters – and use Afrobarometer data to develop the Party Presence Index, the first systematic, cross-national measure of local party presence in Africa. We then apply the index to a series of substantive questions, confirming its value and demonstrating its potential to add significantly to our understanding of grassroots party organization.
- Topic:
- Governance, Democracy, Local, Political Parties, and Community
- Political Geography:
- Africa