Engineering Power: The Classification of Presidential Constitutional Manipulation in Sub-Saharan Africa (1990-2020)
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15220%2F25%3A73633564" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15220/25:73633564 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/00020397251372624" target="_blank" >https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/00020397251372624</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00020397251372624" target="_blank" >10.1177/00020397251372624</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Engineering Power: The Classification of Presidential Constitutional Manipulation in Sub-Saharan Africa (1990-2020)
Original language description
This paper investigates the phenomenon of presidential constitutional engineering (PCE) in Sub-Saharan Africa between 1990 and 2020. It introduces a novel conceptual framework and classification system that captures the most frequent and impactful strategies used by political elites to retain power through legal-constitutional means. These include manipulating term limits, adopting new constitutions to reset term counts, altering electoral systems, and imposing restrictive candidacy conditions. Unlike broader notions of electoral manipulation, the paper focuses specifically on legal-constitutional reforms that reshape the structure of presidential competition. Drawing on our dataset of documented PCE attempts, it offers comparative insights into institutional fragility and the concentration of executive power. The framework contributes to both academic debate and policy design by offering a clear typology that scholars and practitioners can adapt to assess democratic resilience and constitutional stability across presidential systems.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
50601 - Political science
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Africa Spectrum
ISSN
0002-0397
e-ISSN
1868-6869
Volume of the periodical
60
Issue of the periodical within the volume
3
Country of publishing house
US - UNITED STATES
Number of pages
19
Pages from-to
472-490
UT code for WoS article
001621143600006
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105015479220