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Democratic Transition in Anglophone West Africa by Jibrin Ibrahim Pdf
Ibrahim offers a comparative study of the democratic transitions in the Anglophone countries of West Africa, identifying regional trends and discreet factors. He argues that democracy is creeping up the agenda, owing to a detremined struggle for human rights and because democracy has been denied to the people for so long. He identifies a number of common issues across the region: the rise of a militarised secular state; a significant increase in public corruption; the primitive accumulation of capital; an intense battle to deepen democracy between civil society and the state; the appropriation of gender poltiics by the state through the office of the 'first ladies'; and the growing dissidence between elections and political choice. The study also addresses what may be considered an acceptable regional model in Ghana, and an unacceptable example in Liberia.
Democratic Transitions in East Africa by F. Wafula Okumu Pdf
Originally published in 2004. Genocide in Rwanda, massive floods of refugees and displaced people in the Horn of Africa, violent civil wars in the West African countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia - these are testimonies to the tremendous cost to grassroots communities when the authority and legitimacy of national political systems and leaders are called into question. The consolidation of democracy represents one tangible strategy to restore authority and legitimacy of political rule, providing the peace and security necessary for political enfranchisement and economic opportunity. This volume explores the factors that are crucial to the emergence of democratic political systems on the African continent, specifically focusing on Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It highlights the political challenges facing these countries during this crucial transition period, and provides insights that are applicable to other countries engaged in this process in Africa and beyond.
Voting for Democracy by John Daniel,Roger Southall Pdf
First published in 1999, the essays in this book examine the context and conduct of a series of watershed elections held in Anglophone Africa in the first half of the 1990s. These elections crystallized a wider process of democratization, underway in much of sub-Saharan Africa during the last decade, in which attempts were made to shift from various forms of authoritarian rule (colonial or racial oligarchies, military regimes, one-party states, or presidential rule) to pluralist parliamentary politics. This volume brings together for the first time, studies of these events in countries sharing a comparable legacy of British colonialism, an acquaintance with the Westminster constitutional tradition and related experiences of decolonization and democratic struggle. Written from a variety of perspectives by contributors with first-hand knowledge and long experience of research in Africa, the papers situate each election in its wider political context, examining the political forces at work and the events which gave rise to reform. All indicate that, despite Western pressure for reform and the influence of the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in Eastern Europe, internal African demands for democracy provided the primary driving force for change. Not all the elections fulfilled the hopes invested in them. In Nigeria, they were annulled before all the votes had been counted. In Kenya, the disarray of the opposition ensured the return to power of the old order. Even where they produced a successful regime transition, the democratic credentials of the new governments were sometimes seriously flawed. Yet for all these limitations, these watershed elections signalled important progress for African democracy. They brought a formal end to colonial rule in Namibia and to three centuries of racial discrimination in South Africa. They brought changes of government through the ballot box in Zambia and Malawi, among the first instances in Africa of such change being accomplished without the use of force. Above all, they provided African electorates with an opportunity to pass judgement on long-serving authoritarian regimes – with unequivocal results: in every case, when given the chance to vote, Africans voted for democracy.
Governance and Democratisation in West Africa by Dele Olowu,Kayode Soremekun Pdf
The process of democratisation is under way, it is argued. The vast network of inter-linking social processes - civil society, the media, academia, and public concern with accountability and transparency, which form the bedrock of true democracy - are strengthening. The authors attempt to document and understand the political developments in the West Africa sub-region by analysing the adaptability of the concept of democracy, the legitimacy of the modern nation and the contribution of law, literature, international relations and local government to the democratic process. Sixteen chapters cover broad thematic issues, democracy in Nigeria and democracy in other West African countries - Francophone West Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana and The Gambia. The special focus on Nigeria is the result of original research reports submitted to the interdisciplinary study, the Governance and Democratisation Project.
Author : African Association of Political Science Publisher : Africa World Press Page : 248 pages File Size : 47,6 Mb Release : 1998 Category : Political Science ISBN : 086543638X
The State and Democracy in Africa by African Association of Political Science Pdf
This book is a study of the issues of democracy and democratization in Africa, with emphasis on the roles of civil society and the state in the democratic transition. After clarifying the meaning of democracy as a universal principle of governance and the applicability of the concept to Africa, the book examines the major problems facing the democratic transition on the continent as a whole.
Multiparty Democracy and Political Change by John Mukum Mbaku,Julius O. Ihonvbere Pdf
First published in 1998, This book is written by seasoned scholars of African Studies and it intended to make a significant contribution to the debate on democracy and democratization in the continent. It contains a rich mixture of analytical ideas and views on the transition to accountable, participatory, and democratic governance structures in Africa. It provides both students of African political economy and policymakers in the continent and in-depth analysis of the post-independence experience of African countries with institutional reforms. Specifically, it looks at the struggles of Africans, since independence, to provide themselves with more appropriate and viable governance structures and economic systems that enhance the ability to entrepreneurs to create wealth. The Book breaks new ground in that it places significant emphasis on the reconstruction of the neo-colonial state as an important first step to a successful transition to democratic and more accountable governance structures.
Democratization in Africa by Larry Jay Diamond,Marc F. Plattner Pdf
"The country-specific chapters serve to underline the differences between African democracy and liberal democracy, yet some authors are at pains to emphasize that whatever their limitations, African democracies are an advance over what had gone before." -- African Studies Review
Transitions and Consolidation of Democracy in Africa by Samuel Ebow Quainoo Pdf
What conditions motivate a transition to democracy? Can the dynamics of a transition influence its outcome? Under what circumstances has democracy been consolidated in Africa? This trilogy of questions has become necessary in light of the current democratic wave engulfing Africa and the rest of the world. In examining the conditions that initiate democratic transitions, this book investigates the circumstances under which democracy movements have operated between 1980 and 1990. It concludes that, contrary to dominant democratic theory, the transitions to democracy in Africa have occurred under declining levels of development. With regard to transitions, the book recognizes that they have their own dynamics. Two main types of transitions are discerned: top-down and bottom-up. The book argues that in spite of the restrictive nature of top-down transitions, they offer a better opportunity for democratic consolidation because of the consensus between elites of the pro-democracy regime and their counterparts in the authoritarian regime, a condition that is normally absent under bottom-up transitions. Finally, relying on the cases of consolidated democracies, the book derives an African democracy model. The model delineates five main conditions that facilitate democratic consolidation, including good leadership, relevant political institutions, external support, civic space, and a reasonable level of development. It cautions, however, that these are not sufficient conditions, nor are all of them necessary. Since countries have unique historical circumstances, specific countries will have to combine conditions in the model that are relevant to that society to consolidate its democracy. The right combination will depend on the specific needs of the individual country.
In 1993 a new democratic order was initiated in Ghana. In 1997 the elected Government ran its full mandate and was re-elected, for the first time infour decades. The authors in this volume question the prevailing trendsand tendencies in the country's democratisation process. Given its historyof incomplete transitions, a thorough analysis of the extremely complexnature of the Ghanaian transition process was needed to look at previousand existing orders. The papers in this collection identify and discussthe interplay of factors impinging on the current process: the intertwinedrelationships between economic and political liberalisations, theinstitutional and non-institutional structures in the emergence ofnational mass consciousness and movements, and the connections between themilitary, party politics and chances of sustainable democratictransitions.
In 1991 Samuel Huntington published "The Third Wave: Democratisation in the Late Twentieth Century". The book informed much of the scholarly work on democratisation in Africa. Although comprehensive in classifying the causes and limitations of transitions to democracy, "The Third Wave" was also limited in its definition of democracy and expectations of a new democracy. This volume engages with the topics of democracy and democratisation in contemporary African politics at the local, national and continental level. It acknowledges a conceptual debt to Huntington when discussing elections, party systems, leadership and the development of continental norms of liberal democracy, but also highlights new conversations (eg: about participatory spaces) that go beyond the Third Wave.
The Politics of Transition in Africa by Giles Mohan,Tunde Zack-Williams Pdf
Part of a series of studies that examine political issues confronting African peoples, societies and states, this text explores: theories of the state, the transition to democracy and economic development. Published in association with ROAPE North America: Africa World Press
Democratic Transition in Postcolonial Africa by George M. Carew Pdf
After three consecutive waves of unsuccessful attempts to transplant democracy in post-colonial Africa, it is necessary for those engaged in any kind of political theorizing to reflect on the path theory has taken and the path that lies ahead. This book delineates a vision that moves beyond the dominant research paradigm toward a new way of constructing a framework of analysis.
The two papers included in this analysis examine the political and socioeconomic factors that contribute to and constrain upon democratization throughout southern Africa and the African continent. With an emphasis on the policies of government, business, and civil society geared toward reducing inequality and poverty, these studies promote community empowerment as a way to promote local, regional, and national sustainable development on the African continent.
