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Does the African Middle Class Defend Democracy?: Evidence from Kenya

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  • Nic Cheeseman

Abstract

Barrington Moore's famous line 'no bourgeoisie, no democracy' is one of the most quoted claims in political science. But has the rise of the African middle class promoted democratic consolidation? This paper uses the case of Kenya to investigate the attitudes and behaviours of the middle class. Analysis of Afrobarometer survey data reveals that the middle class is more likely to support the opposition and hold pro-democratic attitudes.

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  • Nic Cheeseman, 2014. "Does the African Middle Class Defend Democracy?: Evidence from Kenya," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-096, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2014-096
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2014-096.pdf
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    1. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo, 2008. "What Is Middle Class about the Middle Classes around the World?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 3-28, Spring.
    2. Daniel Branch & Nicholas Cheeseman, 2006. "The politics of control in Kenya: Understanding the bureaucratic-executive state, 1952--78," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(107), pages 11-31, March.
    3. Benn Eifert & Edward Miguel & Daniel N. Posner, 2010. "Political Competition and Ethnic Identification in Africa," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(2), pages 494-510, April.
    4. World Bank, 2012. "Kenya Economic Update, June 2012," World Bank Publications - Reports 26666, The World Bank Group.
    5. Easterly, William, 2001. "The Middle Class Consensus and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 317-335, December.
    6. Lipset, Seymour Martin, 1959. "Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy1," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 69-105, March.
    7. Michael Bratton & Mwangi S. Kimenyi, 2008. "Voting in Kenya: Putting Ethnicity in Perspective," Working papers 2008-09, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    8. World Bank, 2012. "Kenya Economic Update, December 2012," World Bank Publications - Reports 26660, The World Bank Group.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Michael Chasukwa, 2019. "Multiple Faces of Democrats: Satisfaction with Democracy and Support for Democracy in Malawi," Insight on Africa, , vol. 11(1), pages 18-37, January.

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