The ‘Arab Spring’ has largely not spread south of the Sahara, but Africans are now less willing to stand by and accept stolen elections, gross abuses of power, and flaunting of inequality.
Author Archives: Joseph Siegle
Stabilizing Fragile States: Difficult but Necessary
July 14, 2011 – 1:52 pm
In a just published article, “Stabilizing Fragile States,” in the journal Global Dialogue, ACSS Research Director, Joseph Siegle, reviews the challenges and priorities of stabilization operations.
Social Networks and Democratic Transitions
April 27, 2011 – 11:37 am
The success and stability of democratic transitions is often a function of the strength of prevailing social networks. Such transitions often face active resistance from vested interests. Yet, the cohesion of networks of civic groups, labor unions, business associations, and others with robust information-sharing systems permit the flexibility and resilience needed to realize genuine reforms and ensure stable transitions.
Democracy pushback in Egypt: revolution was the starting point, not finish line
April 15, 2011 – 11:56 am
Democracy activists in Egypt are on the defensive after a series of authoritarian crackdowns. Pushback is a common trait of democratic transitions. Yet democratic reforms are vital if Egypt is to achieve real social and economic progress. Reformers must organize quickly, for the long-term.
What Egypt Means for Africa
February 15, 2011 – 3:43 pm
Historic events in Egypt and Tunisia in recent weeks have fed speculation over whether the demands for change will spread to other closed regimes in the Arab world. However, reverberations from Egypt may also be felt throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, where the Egyptian protests have drawn a rapt following. ACSS Director of Research, Joseph Siegle, assesses the potential implications in the attached blog posting, arguing that while its culture, history, and geo-strategic role differ significantly from Sub-Saharan Africa, many of the frustrations faced by Egyptian youth – illegitimate government, corruption, growing inequality, and despair – resonate deeply throughout the continent. This coincides with a dramatic upsurge in the accessibility of cell phones and social media in the region – and the demands for greater accountability.
Decentralization and Internal Conflict
November 9, 2010 – 4:02 pm
The Africa Center’s Director of Research, Joseph Siegle, PhD, is the co-author of a chapter in the recent publication “Making Decentralization Work: Democracy, Development, and Security,” (London: Lynne Rienner) edited by Ed Connerley, Kent Eaton, and Paul Smoke.
March 24, 2010 – 10:07 am
Dr. Joseph Siegle, Director of Research at the Africa Center, has co-authored the recently released The Democracy Advantage, which analyzes the superior development and security track record democracies have realized over the past five decades relative to countries with closed political systems.
Democracy and Development: Overcoming Autocratic Legacies
October 13, 2009 – 9:00 am
Poor countries are more vulnerable to crisis, be it economic, humanitarian, or open conflict. Cross-national analysis, however, shows that the development performance of low-income democracies significantly outpaces that of autocracies – and do so with less volatility. Sustaining democratization, therefore, is a priority for attaining both development and security objectives.
The Democracy Advantage: How Democracies Promote Prosperity and Peace
August 1, 2009 – 12:43 am
The Democracy Advantage: How Democracies Promote Prosperity and Peace. By Joseph Siegle, Morton H. Halperin and Michael M. Weinstein. Routledge, December 2009.
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Governance Strategies to Remedy the Natural Resource Curse
July 15, 2009 – 1:03 pm
The seemingly paradoxical outcome of resource-rich countries being development-poor is, in fact, quite predictable given that autocratic governments often rule resource-rich states. Addressing the resource curse requires changing the incentives facing political leaders so that they are rewarded for transparency and confront robust international legal penalties when they do not.
