Paper short abstract:

The paper will examine the influence of the Socialist International on the formation of the political systems in Sub-Saharan Africa after the re-introduction of multi-party democracy in most of African countries from comparative perspectives.

Paper long abstract:

The paper will be devoted to important but insufficiently researched issue of activities of the Socialist International in Africa and its relations with political parties on the continent. Its importance is underlined by the fact that the 24th Congress of Socialist International took place last September in Cape Town.

Its aim is to do comparative studies in several directions and to try to find answers to the following questions:

-To what extend do the Socialist International's ideology and political practice influence political forces in Sub-Saharan Africa?

- What is the difference between political systems of the countries where the SI African members are in power and the others?

- Why are African political parties joining Socialist International, as full members or as observers?

- To what extent does this membership promote human rights, democracy and economic development?

- How influential is Socialist International in Africa in comparison with other international political formations such as International Democratic Union and Liberal International?

- Is the policy of SI European member parties towards Africa common?

The paper will be based on the study of documents and publications as well as on field studies, primarily in Southern African countries.