Abstract
The chapter analyses the legal framework and the implementation of referendums in Africa and Northern Africa and compares francophone and Anglophone countries and national differences resulting from colonial structures. While citizen initiatives are rare in Africa, referendums have often used to support nation building (independence). However, presidential plebiscites of questionable democratic legitimacy are the norm and have been used to strengthen African authoritarian regimes. Only rarely have African referendums been used as an inclusive democratic instrument to strengthen democratization and finalize conflict resolution.
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Kersting, N. (2018). Africa. In: Qvortrup, M. (eds) Referendums Around the World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57798-2_7
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