Aid as a Path on the Muddled Road Toward Democratization? : A quantitative multiple case study on the impact of aid on the democratization process in Sub Saharan Africa

Abstract: This thesis deals with the problematic question of aid as a helping hand to states that are in the process of developing democracy. It focuses on the Sub Saharan African region as a critical case, and furthermore upon the aid contributions made by the European Union during the time period of 1996-2006. The main ambition is to explore the real effect of aid on the democratic process, but also to explore other variables that might have effect. The method used is regression analysing of a database called The Quality of Government database Cross – Section Time-Series May 2008. The database has later been modified to suit my specific needs and aid has been recoded. This thesis is meant to be a theory testing study, and the theories tested will be related to the independent variables such as aid as a democratic helping hand as well as theories of corruption, political participation and military rule in the search for democracy.