https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0535-8226
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Sebastian Elischer, Inequality and Political Cleavage in Africa: A Review Article, Political Science Quarterly, 2025;, qqaf039, https://doi.org/10.1093/psquar/qqaf039
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Abstract
Since the onset of the third wave of democratization in sub-Saharan Africa approximately three and a half decades ago, political scientists have debated the drivers of African politics. In her latest book, Inequality and Political Cleavage in Africa, Catherine Boone advances the idea that persistent regional voting blocs constitute a central and underexplored feature of African electoral competition and policymaking. Drawing on theoretical insights from new economic geography, comparative political economy, and cleavage theory, she demonstrates the long-term effect of European colonization's territorialization of African states. Accordingly, colonial rulers designed administrative institutions leading to the creation of economically distinct regions. The combination of strong administrative institutions and spatial inequality triggered the emergence and subsequent consolidation of persistent regional voting blocs. Economically, stratification, rather than ethnicity, shapes African political dynamics. This review article discusses Boone’s provocative theory relative to existing literature. Subsequently, the implication of Boone's findings is discussed relative to several pertinent topics in African politics.
