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Sep 19, 2024
Why Almost Everything You Think about Protests in Africa is Wrong
A Discussion with Zoe Marks
Summary
For decades, media and academic analysis of African politics has emphasised instability, political violence, and male dominance. Yet a brilliant new article by Zoe Marks for the Journal of Democracy entitled “African Popular Protest and Political Change” reveals that in fact Africa stands out as the region globally with the largest number of nonviolent campaigns both in the 1990s and since. What is more, these nonviolent movements have been more likely to include women than those in other parts of the world and are particularly youthful. Listen as Nic Cheeseman talks to Zoe Marks about her findings, and why non-violent protests with extensive women’s participation are more likely to succeed.
Dr Zoe Marks is lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Faculty Director of the Harvard Center for African Studies. She conducts pioneering research on a number of topics, including why autocrats fear women and gender dynamics in rebel groups. She is the coauthor (with Erica Chenoweth) of the forthcoming book Bread and Roses: Women on the Frontlines of Revolution, which explores the impact of women’s participation on mass movements.
Dr Nic Cheeseman is the Professor of Democracy and International Development at the University of Birmingham and Founding Director of CEDAR.
The People, Power, Politics podcast brings you the latest insights into the factors that are shaping and re-shaping our political world. It is brought to you by the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR) based at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Join us to better understand the factors that promote and undermine democratic government around the world and follow us on Twitter at @CEDAR_Bham!
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Your Host
Nic Cheeseman
Nic Cheeseman is Professor of Democracy at the University of Birmingham. He has won a number of awards and prizes including the Joni Lovenduski Prize of the Political Science Association of the UK for outstanding professional achievement and the Economic and Social Research Council prize for “outstanding international impact”. Professor Cheeseman is also the author or editor of more than ten books, including How to Rig an Election (2018) – selected as one of the books of the year by the Spectator magazine. A frequent commentator democracy, elections and global events, his analysis has appeared in the Economist, Le Monde, Financial Times, Newsweek, the Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, Daily Nation and he writes a regular column for the Africa Report.