At the seminar, Dr. Bratton presented his research methodology and findings into democracy and public opinion in Africa through a state-of-the-art research instrument named the Afrobarometer that measures the social, political and economic atmosphere in Africa. Afrobarometer surveys are conducted in more than a dozen African countries and, in several countries, will be repeated on a regular cycle. Because the instrument asks a standard set of questions, countries can be systematicaly compared and, ultimately, trends in public attitudes can be tracked over time.
Countries
By 2000, Afrobarometer surveys had been conducted in ten countries: Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Selected time-series data have been collected for three countries: Zambia (1993, 1996, 1999), South Africa (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000), and Ghana (1997, 1999).
Four new countries will be added in 2001: Benin, Mali, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
Topics
Each survey collects data about individual attitudes and behavior, including innovative indicators specially relevant to developing societies.
Democracy . Popular understanding of, support for, and satisfaction with democracy, as well as any desire to return to, or experiment with, authoritarian alternatives.
Governance . The demand for, and satisfaction with, effective, accountable and clean government; judgements of overall governance performance.
Livelihoods . How do African familites survive? What variety of formal and informal means do they use to gain access to food, shelter, water, health, employment and money?
Macro-economics and Markets . Citizen understandings of market principles and market reforms and their assessments of economic conditions and government performance at economic management.
Social Capital . Whom do people trust? To what extent do they rely on informal networks and associations? What are their evaluations of the trustworthiness of various governmental and non-governmental institutions.
Crime . How safe do people feel? What has been their experience with crime and its control?
Participation . The extent to which ordinary folks join in development efforts, comply with the laws of the land, vote in elections, contact elected representatives, engage in protest, and consider migration.
National Identity . How do people see themselves in relation to ethnic and class identities? Does a shared sense of national identity exist?
Network
The Afrobarometer is an international collaborative enterprise of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa ( IDASA ), the Center for Democracy and Development, ( CDD -Ghana), and Michigan State University ( MSU ). Apart from these core partners, the Afrobarometer Network includes national partners - independent research institutes in the university, NGO, and private sectors - that executive surveys in each African country. Through networking and applied training, the partners aim at mutual capacity-building,
Funding
Afrobarometer research is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation ( NSF ) , the Swedish International Development Agency ( SIDA ), the US Agency for International Development ( USAID ), and the Danish Governance Trust Fund administered by the World Bank .
Results
The results of Afrobarometer surveys are fed directly into the policy process, usually through NGOs. We seek to reach diverse audiences: decision-makers in government, policy advocates, donor agencies, journalists, and researchers, as well as voting-age adults in Africa who wish to become informed and active citizens.
Publications
Recent Afrobarometer publications include:
- Public Opinion and the Consolidation of Democracy in South African (IDASA July 2000)
- Popular Attitudes to Democracy and Markets in Ghana (CDD, November 1999)
- Support for Democracy in Africa: Intrinsic or Instrumental? (MSU, October 1999)
- Attitudes to Democracy and Markets in Nigeria (MSU. April 2000)
Post-seminar Note
As a result of the seminar, the Center on Democratic Performance will collaborate with Dr. Bratton in Afrobarometer surveys in Francophone Africa including Senegal and Benin.