Publication

This publication provides survey results measuring attitudes toward democracy, free speech and the media in Africa. The results show that Africans associate democracy with freedom, that they still have residual political fears, and that people support freedom of the press. The authors use these indicators to capture popular commitments to free speech throughout the paper. They interpret these results to mean that a majority of Africans across the continent rejects the culture of silence associated with authoritarian rule and instead welcome new opportunities to speak out on political issues.