Where Do We Stand? An Exploratory Analysis of Confidence in African Court Systems

Abstract

As an exploratory analysis, this research investigates the factors influencing public confidence in the court systems of five African nations; namely, South Africa, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali and Zambia. Incorporating frequency descriptive measurements and ordinal logistic regression, this research provides a comparative assessment across varying political, cultural, social and historical contexts to foster continued research within the criminal justice institutions, specifically the courts. The findings indicate that public confidence in the courts remains high, despite popular speculation to the contrary. There were, however, varying levels of confidence between the five nations; differences at theoretical and practical levels are discussed.

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Published: 2016-12-01
Pages:132 to 153
Section:Articles
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How to Cite
Boateng, F. D. and Makin, D. A. (2016) “Where Do We Stand? An Exploratory Analysis of Confidence in African Court Systems”, International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 5(4), pp. 132-153. doi: 10.5204/ijcjsd.v5i4.291.

Author Biographies

University of Minnesota (Crookston Campus)
 United States

Liberal Arts and Education Department

Assistant Professor

David A. Makin is a Research Fellow at the Washington State Institute for Criminal Justice Research and Clinical Assistant Professor at Washington State University. His most recent publications have appeared in Criminal Justice Policy Review and Forensic Science Policy & Management: An International Journal. His current research interests include the relationship between technology, society, and criminal justice and comparative criminal justice.