The ALC Project is an interactive data visualization tool based on the ALC dataset, conceived and developed by Giovanni Carbone (Head of the ISPI Africa Programme and Professor of Political Science at the University of Milan) and Alessandro Pellegata (Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Milan). The ALC dataset systematically collects data on leadership changes in the African continent from 1960 to the present day. It is, therefore, possible to discover for each individual African country not only how many and which changes of leadership have taken place since independence, but also, more specifically, how they occurred: through violent transitions, coups d'état or armed insurrection, or through elections. In the latter case – which is increasingly widespread – the dataset also provides information on whether the electoral transition took place within a framework of party continuity or if it marked the advent to government of new forces from the opposition. This evolution is graphically traced through dynamic maps by following each country as it moves towards, or away from, democracy. Moreover, each individual leadership period can be visually paired to the evolution of one or more socio-economic indicators, from economic growth to human development, from demographic expansion to average life expectancy.

The ALC Project is conceived and developed by Chiara Accinelli e Simone Minisi (Università degli Studi di Genova).

All the data included in the ALC dataset is free to download for use in your own research, but please make sure to cite it properly. The correct way to cite these data is:

Carbone Giovanni and Alessandro pellegata (2020) Political Leadership in Africa. Leaders and Development South of the Sahara. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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