Ps335 Democratization and the State of Democracy in Africa

7/29/2019 Ps335 Democratization and the State of Democracy in Africa

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M R . PA ST ORY, PA R E S T I C O.

P H D . C A N D I D AT E

Topic 7DEMOCRATIZATION AND THE STATE OF DEMOCRACY

IN AFRICA1

U D S M 2 0 1 3


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DEMOCRATIZATION2

Process of change of a political system from a

non-democratic toward a democratic one.

Do not adhere to democratic principles

Political power concentrated in single individual

or few persons exercising unlimited authorityover the society: Examples: Totalitarian,Authoritarian, military regimes etc.


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Democratization: Transition3

Has two Parts:

Democratic transitiondemocratic consolidation.

Democratic transitionA process of regime change towards a

democratic regime

Involves building and strengthening of

democratic institutionsMay take various modes:


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Democratization: transition cont.Stradiotto, G. A & &Guo, S (2010), Bratton, M & Nicholas, W (1997

Transition Modes

ConversionRegime led reform*

Military oligarchies eg. Bukinafaso, Ghana,

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, , , , ,

Single party democracies eg Tz, Kenya, Zambia

Cooperative

A negotiated transition/pact/compromise

Result of joint action by incumbent gvt. & opp. GroupsSA, Zbwe, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique


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Democratization: Transition cont.

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Collapse (Opp. Led/overthrow/change from

below)mass Involvement and support of the public

Military unwillingness to defend old regime

Egypt, Tunis, . Benin ,Congo and NigerForeign intervention

May take various forms

I. Foreign military interference

II. Sanctions,


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Democratization: Consolidation6

Democratic Consolidation

A successful democratic transition/an

institutionalized/ consolidated democracy

Measures for assessing democratic

development/consolidation


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Democratic Consolidation: Measures

Mukandala (2001) has analyzed and

discussed various measures1. The second election test.

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.

3. Longevity test

4. 4.Democracy as the only game in town

All these measures except the fourth have beenproven false


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Democratic Consolidation: Measures8

Dahl/Held/Sorensens model

High level of political competition

High level of political participation

Guarantee of civil & pol. Liberties

Afrobarometer Model (2009)

o When a balance between demand and supply fordemocracy is sustained*


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Bakari & Mushi (2006)

They suggest 6 indicators of a consolidated democracy

1. Presence of formal structure of liberal

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political pluralism: multipartyconstitution, several political parties

&CSOs2. A civil society engaged with the state:Civil society state-relationship


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3. Presence of a struggle for democracy by civil society

groups, political parties etc. Is there a pro-democracymovement?

4. Strength of political parties, their power basis and

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relations with CSOs5. Consensus of basic rules of the game

6. State toleration of pluralism. state must recognize and

accept pluralism in its various forms*


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Democratic Consolidation: Measures11

IDEA Framework ( I thought it should be here rather than

placing it after assessment of the state of democracy . Ihave not yet gone through the reading other than the

summary you sent me. However we can still skip it and

providing a good framework for analyzing the quality of

democracy compared to the other measures discussed

before.


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T H E S TAT E O F D E M O C R A C Y I N A F R I C A

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Democracy in Africa


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An Overview of Democratization Process in

Africa13

When did democratization start?

What were the forces?What were the key features of regime transition

What is the state of democratization today?

Has the transition process

advanced/consolidated/back-slided or is it at across road?

What are the challenges?


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Democratization Process in Africa

Transition to Democracy in Africa began during theThird Wave*

Broad and pronounced political change (in

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SSA) began in 1990 Transition to democracy was mainly rationalized

along two major lines

Overcoming Political instabilityPromoting Development


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Democratization process in Africa cont.15

Predominant political arrangements before

liberalization (Bratton, M & Nicholas, W 1997Chp.2)

-

Military oligarchy (11)

Competitive one-party system (13)

Settler oligarchy (2)

The multiparty system (5)


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Democratization process in Africacont.16

Fig3. Predominant political arrangements in the post colonial AfricaSource:

Bratton, M & Nicholas, W 1997 Chp.2


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Democratization Process in Africa cont.

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Key Features of regime transition in Africa

Political instability Resistance of incumbency to accept defeat

Resistance to open-up for democratic reforms

procedures of popular governance Eg. 35 Cs btn. 1990-94, key political events taking roughly 1yr

In Many countries constitutions remained largely the same

Democratic reversal & Military intervention Institutional and election manipulation

Military intervention eg 1:4* countries since 1989-2002,


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The State of Democracy in Africa cont.

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Mukandala, 2001

There still numerous undemocratic practices in many Cs In most cases elections have been characterized by unequal playing fields in

which the ruling party hold all critical resources

Elections are governed by bad constitutions and laws, managed by partisanand sub ective electoral commissions,

Pastory_Parestico MUCE2012

Characterized by vote ringing and violence New regimes behaving like old one-wanting to serve longer

periods than constitutionally allowed A case of Wades Senegal?

No one can guarantee regime change to occur very easily even in

those Cs it has occurred before eg. Kibakis Kenya In most countries the quality of democracy is diminished by one

party dominance


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The State of Democracy in Africa cont.19

Afrobarometer study (2008),

No consolidated democracies in Africa. It is characterizedby:

A diversity of political regimes

Most of the regimes are unconsolidated hybrid systems; (ie.citizens demand more democracy than what they get) eg.

Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia) and,

Some political regimes are consolidating, but not always as

democracies (eg. Botswana, Ghana).


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The State of Democracy in Africa cont.

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Larry, 2010

Between 1990-2005 six presidents including Musevensucceeded to lift term limits (Larry 2010)

Africa remains the most badly governed regions in the world


Most countries suffering a concentration of power in theoffice of the president

A limited guarantee of Civil liberties, weak opposition

rights, elections riddled with malpractices


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The State of Democracy in Africa: GeneralConclusions

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Implementation of liberal democratic project is

not fairing well in AfricaDemocracy is not yet the only game in town

Africa still has a lon wa to o to achieve


liberal democratic aspirations The transition process in many countries is at the

cross-road

Very few Countries considered doing better

Ghana, SA, Botswana, Mali


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The State of Democracy in Africa cont.22

Positive developments

Attitudes towards support of democracy in Africa isincreasing,

Most countries have adopted presidential term limits, a


number have successfully resisted efforts by incumbents tolift them.

End of one party rule-Electoral democracy is now taking

place though characterized by many fouls.


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Democratization in Africa: Challenges

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Why is Democracy not fairing well in Africa?

Contradiction between formal institutions andtraditional norms

Neo-patrimonialism (Larry, 2008; Bratton &Walle, 1997)


. ,2001) Preferring non-threatening politics

Seperation of political movement form social movements

The nature of democracy being implemented (liberaldemocracy) is not suitable for Africa (Ake, 1993,Mukandala Ibid.)


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Democratization in Africa: Challenges cont.

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Democratizing while struggling to achieve

development (Ake, 1993)

Building democracy through donor financing


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Democratization in Africa: A way Forward

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According to Claude Ake, Democracy is not only aquestion ofdesirability or evennecessity but also

feasibility. Africa require more than liberal democracy. Itrequires:

Democrac in which eo le have some real ower of


decision making and above the formal consent ofelectoral choice.

A powerful legislative

Decentralization of power to local democratic institutions Development of institutions of interest articulation and

aggregation


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LU8&9 The State of Democracy in Africa

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A social democracy that places emphasizes on social-

political and economic rights as opposed to liberalemphasizes on abstract political rights

Democracy that invests heavily in improvement of peoples


ea , e uca on an capac y o par c pa e e ec ve y

A democracy that emphasizes on collective rights as

it does on individual rights

Democracy of incorporation of mass organization inlegislature- special representation-youth, women labour

movements


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Ps335 Democratization and the State of Democracy in Africa