Political parties are a vital element in the quality of representative democracy, and with democracy in retreat around the world, it is now more essential than ever to understand the role they play in enhancing accountability, supporting democracy, and reining in populism. No-where is this more true than in Africa, where just 9 countries (out of 54) are currently rated as free, democracy is declining, populism is on the rise, and a decreasing number of people prefer multiparty democracy to other forms of government.

The Political Parties in Africa project is the first large-scale study of political party organization and activity in Africa, providing vital information, data and analysis to support accountability and democracy strengthening initiatives on the continent. Central to this is the development of a new cross-national dataset on African political parties, containing information on their formal rules, their organization and activities at a national and subnational level, and their interactions with citizens.

The Political Parties in Africa Project (PPA):

1. Collects rigorous, systematic data on political parties in Africa.

Data collection includes the collection and analysis of government and party statutes, manifestoes and constitutions (the “formal rules of the game”), as well as interviews with party leadership, expert surveys, the collection of information on local branch infrastructure, a survey of branch leaders, and surveys of party and community members.

2. Establishes an active network of researchers across Africa, Europe and North America.

A central goal of this project is to bring together scholars from across the Global North and South who share an interest in the study of political parties in order to: share knowledge and expertise; unite the often disparate literatures; compare experiences; develop best practices; and encourage the development of a research agenda that brings the different regions into conversation. This network involves multiple points of contact with existing African research projects – including Afrobarometer and the African Legislatures Project. We also hold regular conferences and workshops to bring this network together. See here for more information.

3. Partners with existing data collection efforts elsewhere in the world to extend their research on political parties by bringing Africa into the conversation.

To enrich academic research on political parties more broadly we partner with existing data collection efforts elsewhere in the world to facilitate the inclusion of Africa. This includes partnerships with the Political Parties Database, led by Thomas Poguntke (Heinrich-Heine-Universität in Düsseldorf), Susan Scarrow (University of Houston), and Paul Webb (University of Sussex), and with the Democratic Accountability and Linkages Project, led by Herbert P. Kitschelt (Duke University).

4. Develops and supports a new research agenda, with a particular focus on encouraging cross-institutional collaborations and strengthening empirical social science research capacity in African institutions.

We build partnerships amongst centers of excellence across the African continent, strengthening their capacity to train new researchers and supporting civil society through the provision of high quality research output. We partner with the Afrobarometer Summer School to provide rigorous training on the theory and study of parties – including the textual analysis of manifestos, quantitative data analysis, and GIS mapping. We also publish a peer-reviewed working paper series in partnership with our host institution, The Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa at the University of Cape Town.

5. Makes data on political parties publicly available, for use by academics, policy makers, civil society organizations, and the broader public.

We are creating a comprehensive data hub for the study of political parties in Africa. This will include copies of party statutes, manifestos and constitutions, along with the PPA dataset. To encourage the use of this data outside of the academy, we will also include an online analysis tool.

6. Works with policy makers and civil society organizations to strengthen democracy in Africa.

By partnering with, and making data and analysis available to, civil society organizations, this project helps strengthen democracy in Africa by providing the systematic data and analysis necessary for successful advocacy campaigns, and the development of institutional capacity in both ruling and opposition parties.

The Political Parties in Africa Project is hosted at the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa at the University of Cape Town, and is being developed as a cross-institutional collaboration between: