Seifu, Michael
(2009)
Determinants of regime survival in Africa.
African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 3
(8).
pp. 341-345.
ISSN 1996-0832
Political instability has arguably been the most important factor that defined the African political
landscape for the past five post-independence decades. Few countries in the region were immune from
the costly conflicts that afflicted the region. It is perhaps no surprise then that a growing volume of
literature on African political economy chose to explain the lacklustre economic performance of the
countries in terms of absence of political stability. However, studies generally tend to downplay the
diversities in the political economy trajectories of the different countries in the region. By highlighting
one such cross-country variation, this study analyses the determinants of regime survival in Africa.
More specifically, we apply survival analysis techniques to identify the institutional features behind
observed differences in regime survival. We find that colonial legacy as well as level of income is
important determinants of the hazard rates for regime survival in Africa.