Africa: Political institutions and satisfaction with democracy in sub-Saharan Africa

Do political institutions affect citizens' satisfaction with democracy? Using cross-sectional Afrobarometer survey data on attitudes toward democracy for 10 sub-Saharan Africa countries together with country-level data on political institutions, this article - part of the Afrobarometer Working Papers series - demonstrates that political institutions do indeed influence citizens' attitudes toward the democratic system. Political institutions mediate the relationship between citizens' political status - i.e., as winners, non-partisans, or losers - and their satisfaction with the way democracy works in the country.