Rachel Beatty Riedl on Benin. Democracy in Hard Places.

So, at some level, a belief in democracy was necessary in Benin as in elsewhere. Support for it - Absolutely. But what's interesting in the Benin case is that you were lacking that level of political elite leadership that were committed democratic ideologues.Rachel Beatty RiedlSupport Democracy Paradox on Patreon for bonus episodes and exclusive updates and information. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Rachel Beatty Riedl is the John S. Knight Professor of International Studies, Director of the Einaudi Center for International Studies, and professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. She also cohosts the podcast Ufahamu Africa with Kim Yi Dionne. Her chapter "Africa’s Democratic Outliers Success amid Challenges in Benin and South Africa" appears in the forthcoming book Democracy in Hard Places.Key HighlightsDetails the story of Benin's democratizationHow Benin has used consensus to governWhat makes Benin a democracy in a hard placeAn overview of the current President Patrice TalonCurrent threats to democracy in BeninKey LinksLearn more about the Einaudi Center for International StudiesListen to the Ufahamu PodcastFollow Rachel Beatty Riedl on Twitter @BeattyRiedlDemocracy in Hard Places edited by Scott Mainwaring and Tarek MasoudDemocracy Paradox PodcastEvan Lieberman on South AfricaChristophe Jaffrelot on Narendra Modi and Hindu NationalismMore Episodes from the PodcastMore InformationDemocracy GroupApes of the State created all MusicEmail the show at [email protected] on Twitter @DemParadox100 Books on DemocracyLearn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/ Support the show