ABSTRACT This article reflects on the role of international election observers in African elections, following the so-called wave of democratisation at the end of the Cold War. When analysed against the role of the “international” as a geopolitical entity and the construction of the political as an epistemic heritage of the West, international observation comes across as a western gaze over the gale of democratisation sweeping through Africa. This observation is not motivated by meeting the expectations and aspirations of generations of Africans who have been waiting for and working towards freedom, but by the convergence of elite interests locally and abroad. The article therefore suggests that international observation of Africa in a neo-colonised post-colonial environment raises suspicions of imperialist designs to impose on Africa the manner in which it must organise the political arena, and the kind of democracy that it should pursue.

中文翻译：

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恶魔与天使：对非洲选举民主的“国际”凝视

摘要 本文反映了冷战结束后所谓的民主化浪潮之后，国际选举观察员在非洲选举中的作用。当分析“国际”作为地缘政治实体的作用和政治作为西方认知遗产的构建时，国际观察被认为是西方对席卷非洲的民主化狂风的凝视。这种观察的动机不是满足几代非洲人一直在等待和争取自由的期望和愿望，而是由于国内外精英利益的融合。