Since the end of the 1980s the most important political development in Sub-Saharan Africa has been the movement towards democracy. This is something that has affected nearly all the countries in the region in varying degrees.

This book provides the reader with a set of case studies covering a diverse range of African states in order to identify the major causes of recent change, the progress made so far and what the prospects for the future might be. While changes in the global political situation has been important, the greatest impetus towards democracy has been the result on internal factors. For all the states covered the specific domestic, social, economic, and political conditions are seen as vitally important.