Politics Research

In academia and the political world, political participation is generally accepted as a key element to a functioning democracy. For democracy to consolidate, there ought to be total freedom of political participation and an interest in participation. Although this is sometimes considered a given in democracies, it is not always the case as citizens sometimes lose interest to participate politically. As Scholars such as Hirschman (1970) argues, in cases where citizens feel that the systems are failing, they sometimes chose to 'exit' from that system; which can mean leaving for a different system. On the other hand, citizens might choose to 'voice' their frustrations in the hope of getting this system to work as it was supposed to - this can be in a form of protest. In addition to that, there exists a third option for citizens which is loyalty. In this case, citizens choose to align with the state structure because they benefit from it. Therefore, drawing from this theory, I seek to understand the relationship between political corruption and political participation. In cases where citizens perceive that the system/government is corrupt, do they choose the exit option or the voice option. Olsson (2014) makes the case that in Western Europe when citizens perceive that the government/system is corrupt, on average they become increasingly less likely to participate politically. But other scholars such as De Vries and Solaz (2017) argue that the result is mixed. Thus, my research will seek to understand the direction of this relationship. In order to understand this, I will analyse the relationship between corruption and political participation in Africa using quantitative methods. The research will analyse how the relationship might differ when factors such as ethnicity, education and economic standings are taking into consideration. The paper will take note of Hirschman's argument which argues that in cases where citizens have no 'exit' option, the voice option tends to be the preferred option.

This research project is highly important in today's political climate as countries are becoming more and more authoritarian; while corruption is becoming increasingly rampant in politics. Focusing specifically on Africa, the research aims to better understanding of how citizens react when they perceive that their political systems are failing. The unique nature of African politics and the rapid polarization among its youths such as the ENDSARS protest in Nigeria, make the focus on the continent highly important.