It is our pleasure to announce a special issue of the South African Journal of International Affairs (Volume 30.3), entitled ‘Safeguarding Election Management Bodies in the Age of Democratic Recession’. This timeous special issue is now published open access on the Taylor & Francis website here.
Several of the articles were presented at an international conference on this topic hosted by the Electoral Commission of South Africa while the Chair of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), in November 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Guest editors Toby James (University of East Anglia, UK), Khabele Matlosa (formerly with the AU and now at the University of Johannesburg) and Victor Shale (Electoral Commission of South Africa), in their introduction to the issue present a compelling analysis of the implications of democratic recession for election monitoring bodies and how these important actors around the world can be best equipped to respond. They also introduce the articles in the special issue, as listed below, including two articles focused on the impact of social media on electoral processes and how to regulate against abuse of these new forms of communication without opening the doors for authoritarian control of the public discourse.
Introduction:
Safeguarding election management bodies in the age of democratic recession
Toby James, Khabele Matlosa and Victor Shale
Research articles
Global trends and impact of democratic recession: Hard choices for the Global South
By Khabele Matlosa
Discrepancy between theory and practice: Democratic recession or a crisis of state legitimacy?
By Mohamed Salih
African election management bodies in the era of democratic backsliding
By Sonali Campion and Attahiru Muhammadu Jega
By Toby James and Holly Ann Garnet
Election staff training: Tracing global patterns of institutionalisation
By Toby James, Erik Asplund, Sonali Campion and Holly Ann Garnett
By Dirk Kotze
Seeing the forest – and the trees: The global challenge of regulating social media for democracy
By Nanjala Nyabola
Reconstructing elections in a digital world
By Nighat Dad and Shymla Khan
By Rafael Rubio and Vitor de Andrade Monteiro
Constitution-building and safeguarding the integrity of elections in Africa
By Oagile Dingake
Inclusive elections? The case of persons with disabilities in the European Union
By Amin Rabitsch, Alejandro Moledo and Michael Lidauer
Mitigating the impact of democratic recession through electoral assistance
By Baïdessou Soukolgué
The role of the African Union in tackling democratic recession in Africa
By Robert Gerenge
Book reviews
Liberalism and Its Discontents, By Francis Fukuyama
Reviewed by: Sishuwa Sishuwa
How to Rig an Election, By Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas
Reviewed by: Mpilo Pearl Sithole
Why Bother With Elections?, By Adam Przeworski
Reviewed by: Victor Shale
Electoral Violence, Corruption, and Political Order, By Sarah Birch
Reviewed by: Leontine Loeber
