Africa peace and conflict journal, v. 7, no. 1, June 2014

Broad trends are identified in discussion of the African Peer Review mechanism: weak states which are unable to give substance to democratic governance, and resistance by governing elites to concede full democratic rights. Leaders have not only failed to promote good governance, they have also neglected to establish structures and institutions to consolidate democratic governance, in some cases actively perverting the principles of liberal democracy. Other contributions to this edition flesh out the diagnosis. Whether in Africa or elsewhere, building democracy is a never-ending struggle against power relations that restrict democracy’s reach