Cold War

When the Berlin Wall fell twenty-five years ago this week, America rejoiced in what was widely seen as a new opportunity for peace in the world

Given the long history of adversarial relations between the United States and Russia/the Soviet Union, it is not surprising that the overall public opinion ratings of Russian leaders have usually been less than favorable.

Large sample surveys of the general population in countries across West Africa before the advent of the Afrobarometer are difficult to come by. Much of the social science research concerning the ideas, preferences, attitudes, and political behavior of individuals in the years surrounding independence (the 1960s for many countries on the continent) either relied on thick but narrow studies of specific communities or was gleaned broadly from more accessible elites – such as officials in state bureaucracies, expatriates living in Europe, and high ranking politicians.