Poverty, survival and democracy in Southern Africa

Abstract

One of the clearest findings of empirical political science is that the prospects of sustaining democratic government in a poor society are far lower than in a relatively wealthy one. Precisely why poverty undermines democracy, however, has been much less clear. In order to answer this question, we use data from seven 1999-20Afrobarometer surveys in Southern Africa to develop measures of poverty and well-being, as well as its possible consequences both in terms of day-to-day survival and political attitudes and behaviour.