Assessing Free and Fair Elections in Countries of Conflict. ACSC Quick-Look 05-10

Abstract

Establishing criteria for free and fair elections that grant political legitimacy to a winner in a country experiencing widespread and intense violence has always been controversial. It should be noted that scholars disagree on what constitutes free and fair as well as what defines legitimacy. Where scholars do agree is over the belief that the freeness and fairness of elections contribute directly to legitimacy. They also agree that first election in countries of conflict is rarely perceived to be free and fair and the winner legitimate in the immediate aftermath. Time is required for confidence in democratic processes to take hold where none previously existed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA430902

Entities

People

  • Paul R. Kan

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Air Force
  • Department Of Defense
  • Education
  • Elections
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • Law
  • Military Operations
  • Perception
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Task Forces
  • Transparencies
  • United States
  • Universities
  • Violence
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.