Alex de Waal looks at the linkages between political processes and institutions and the prevention of famine. He examines the ‘democracy prevents famine’ hypothesis and concludes that democratic political institutions and processes can play a lead role in the struggle against famine but their effectiveness depends on the development of political coalitions in the countries concerned and the strategies they use.
The mechanisms, processes and pressures which can exist within a democratic state to prevent famine amount to an ‘anti-famine political contract’. The second half of de Waal’s paper discusses how such a political contract can be created and how it can be enforced.
