Will Democracy Settle or Intensify Civil Conflicts?

Abstract

Despite the transition of some 40 African countries to democracy, people remain skeptical and suspicious. One discouraging phenomenon mentioned earlier is the renewed wave of military coups that toppled several duly elected democratic governments without much protest from the electorate due to widespread fraud in the voting for these governments. In these and many other countries people have been deeply disillusioned, distrusting the election results because rigging is common and the autocratic leaders use their power and the power and resources of the state in order to secure their election.