UNIVERSITY OF LINKÖPING
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND ENGINEERING
DIVISION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
MSSC IN INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN RELATIONS
MASTER´S THESIS
THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL ACTORS IN THE
DEMOCRATIZATION OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA:
A CRITICAL APPRAISAL.
BY;
SUPERVISOR;
ASANDAK PAUL TANGU
HELEN LINDBERG
LINKÖPING, SWEDEN
June 2012.
I
ABSTRACT
This research which is all about a study of democracy using Sub-Saharan (SS) Africa as a
case study, and international actors as key players, is aimed specifically at critically
examining the extent to which democracy is introduced into SS Africa by external players. To
guarantee authentic results an in-depth probe into the situation on the ground in SS Africa is
conducted, and which gives account of how democratization had hit a stall before the late
1980s, (early scope date for this thesis) because the new leaders who took over leadership
from the colonial masters in the 1960s had become so autocratic and entrenched. The
accompanying woes which follow such systems of governments like wars, violence and
economic downturns, etc spurred a disorganized and less developed civil society into street
action yelling for democracy. Several international actors who responded to this cry all saw
democracy and good governance as the only sine qua non for any meaningful progress in the
sub-region and ever since embarked on several activities to promote it.
A simple qualitative methodological approach is applied to elaborate on these policies
conducted by the various external actors. Through this approach, multiple sources of data
including primary and secondary sources are reviewed, and the data collected is placed sideby-side with the basic tenets of democracy and analyzed and tested for compatibility. Results
after the final interpretations intimate that efforts at democratization in SS Africa by
international actors have been so vigorous though at varying degrees. As most actors were
sincere in the struggle to contribute in building a solid democratic SS Africa, others were busy
using democracy as an alibi for personal interest, while others contradicted development for
democracy.
II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This thesis would not have become a reality if not of the relentless inspirations, unerring
support and words of encouragement from a number of persons during my years of study at
the Linköping University in Sweden.
Firstly, my profound gratitude goes to my supervisor Helen Lindberg of the Department of
Political Science for her important and insightful comments, valuable criticism, feedbacks and
patience to guide me go through this stressful research exercise.
Secondly, I am equally indebted to the entire staff of International and European Relations
Programme for the support they accorded me, for without which I would not have gathered
the momentum to make this research a success. I also appreciate all my classmates and friends
for the enormous love and cooperation that they exhibited especially in the exchange of
reading materials.
Last but not the least, would want to extend special thanks to my entire family especially
my father, Asandak Stephen, my sister, Asandak Glory and brother, Asandak Isaac, not
leaving out some of my greatest all-time friends,
Akanga Fidelis, Tanjoh Colins and
Bakwowi Jeshma for this marvelous breakthrough.
Finally, my greatest thanks goes to the Almighty God for given me life and strength to
carry forward my education to this level.
III
TABLE OF CONTENT
I)
Abstract…………..……………………………………………………………….……ii
Ii )
Acknowledgement .…………...………………………………………………….…. iii
Iii ) Table of Content …………………………………………………………...…………. iv
iV)
List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………....vii
V)
List of Acronyms and Abbreviation ..……………………………………………......viii
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
CHAPTER ONE
1:1
Background study of region ………………….…………………………………...….3
1 : 2 Statement of Problem ………………………..……………………………………..….6
1:3
Methodology and work plan …………………...…………………………………..…8
1:4
Scope and Limitation of study ………………….……………………………………10
1:5
Expected results and implication ……………...……………………………………..11
1:6
Review of Literature ………………………………………………………………..12
CHAPTER TWO
CONCEPT OF DEMOCRATISATION ……………………………………………………………13
2 : 1 Empirical outlook of democracy ………………………………………………………13
2:2
Democracy and the African context ……….…………………………………………16
2:3
Democracy in a theoretical perspective ………………………………………………20
2: 3 : 1 Approach as a universal concept ………..………………………………………20
2 : 3 : 2 Approach within an African model ….……………..…………….…….………23
2 : 4 Why the inconsistency in democracy in SS Africa …………………………………. 27
2:5
International Actors involved in the democratization of SS Africa …………………..30
IV
CHAPTER THREE
INTERNAL FORCES AS CATALYST ………………………….…………………………31
3 : 1 The Role of Civil Society……..………………………………………………………31
3:2
Local Media ……………………………………………………………...………….33
CHAPTER FOUR
INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (IGO) ……….………….36
4:1
International Monetary Fund (IMF) ………………..………………………..…….…36
4 : 1 : 1 Policy of Conditionality and Technical Assistance ……………………..……37
4:1:2
Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) ……………………………….…..38
4:2
World Bank (WB) …...……………...…………………………………………….….40
4:3
United Nations Organization (UNO) …………………………………………..……42
4:4
African Union (AU) …………………………………………………………...……44
4:5
European Union (EU) ………………………………………………………...……..46
4:6
Commonwealth of Nations ………………………………………………...…..……49
CHAPTER FOUR
INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (INGO) …………51
5:1
Human Rights Watch (HRW) ……………………………………………...………..51
5:2
Amnesty International (AI)………………………………………………...…………53
5 : 3 Mo Ibrahim Foundation …………………………..………………………….………55
5 : 4 National Democratic Institute (NDI) …………………..……………………………..57
V
CHAPTER FIVE
OTHER ACTORS ……………………………………………………………………………………59
6:1
Super powers ………………………………….………………………………………59
6:2
Regional and neighbouring states …………….………………………………………60
CHAPTER SIX
7 : 1 General Analysis and discussion of problem …………………………………………63
7 : 2 General theoretical review…………………………………….………………………65
7 : 3 Prospects and Challenges ……………………………………………………………..67
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….………..70
List of References ……………………………………………………………..………..72
VI
List of Tables
Table i: Transition outcomes, SS Africa, December 1994 …………………………………………………17
Table ii: How African leaders left office, 1960 – 2003 ………………………………………………………19
VII
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AI ------------ Amnesty International
AIDS -------- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AU ---------- African Union
BBC --------- British Broadcasting Corporation
CEMAC ----- Economic and Monetary Union of Central Africa
CFA ---------- Communauté financière d'Afrique ("Financial Community of Africa").
CFSP -------- Common Foreign and Security Policy
CPI ---------- Corruption Perception Index
DPA --------- Department of Political Affairs
DPKO ------- Department of Peacekeeping Operations
ECCAS ------ Economic Community of Central African States
ECOWAS --- Economic Community of West African States
Etc ----------- Et cetera
EU ----------- European Union
FM ----------- Frequency Modulation
GDP --------- Gross Domestic Product
GNP ---------Gross National Product
HIPC --------- Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative
HIV ----------Human Immune Virus
HRW --------- Human Right Watch
IBRD ---------International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
IDA ---------- International Development Associaton
IGOs ---------- International Governmental Organizations
IMF ---------- International Monetary Fund
INGOs ------– International Non-Governmental Organizations
IPCC ---------- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
VIII
IOs ------------International Organizations
LDCs ----------Less Developed Countries
MDGs --------- Millennium Development Goals
MNCs --------- Multinational Corporations
NATO ---------North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGOs ---------- Non-Governmental Organizations
OAU --------- Organization of African Unity
OHCHR ------ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
PRSPs ----------Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
RFI ------------- Radio France International
UK ----------- United Kingdom
UNDEF ------- United Nations Democracy Fund
UNDP --------- United Nations Development Programme
UNEP ---------- United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO--------United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNHCR --------United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNO -----------United Nations Organization
UNV ----------- United Nations Volunteers
USA -----------United States of America
SAPs ----------- Structural Adjustment Programmes/Policies
SADC --------- Southern African Development Community
SS Africa ------ Sub-Saharan Africa
WAEMU ------ West African Economic and Monetary Union
WHO ----------- World Health Organization
WTO ------------ World Trade
WWI/WWII ---- World War I/World War II
IX
INTRODUCTION
Several external actors are today involved in the democratization process in SS Africa1, a
region of Africa sub of the Saharan desert, comprising forty-nine countries. The attention of
the actors was turned to the region as from the late 1980s and early 1990s because the area
was hard-hit by a severe economic crisis, diseases and famine, coups and wars; which was
subsequently accompanied by massive street protests, violence and strikes. Coupled to these,
it coincided with the demise of former Soviet Union and end of Cold War, making this region
the only international political hotspot at the time. As a prelude to the involvement of external
actors, SS African countries had been firmly in the grip of entrenched authoritarian leaders
who had over-turned the vibrant multiparty system bequeathed to the sub-region by their
colonial masters before leaving in the late 1950s and early 60s. Their patrimonial and
dictatorial rule resulted to so many adverse effects like widespread corruption, human rights
violations, limited freedom of speech, assembly, belief and press, absence of the rule of law,
flawed and/or limited electoral processes or even none at all as was the case in several
countries, etc. These negative impacts generated the subsequent crisis which necessitated the
involvement of external bodies for a remedy.
International actors involved in this sub-region include IGOs, INGOs and individual states
and regional bodies. They carry out some activities like good governance policy, economic
and political structural adjustment policies, peacekeeping, peace building policies, monitoring
cease fires, election supervision, use of force, implementation of the rule of law, human rights
promotion, etc. So in an attempt to probe into these activities so as to know the extent to
which they could promote democracy in SS Africa, we start to realized that documented
information greatly narrows down, meaning very less research has been done in that direction.
Therefore the main aim of this research work is to try to fill this gap by identify these actors,
elaborate what policies they have been carrying as far as democracy is concerned, and finally
coming to a critical conclusion whether such activities have so far been beneficial in
promoting democracy or not. My main reason for making this inquiry is because several of
the international actors involved in the democratization process in SS Africa, originates from
1
It should be noted that in our study of democratization in SS Africa we shall view the meaning of democracy
as encompassing not only a minimalist electoral form characterized by the presence of regular, competitive,
free and fair multiparty elections, but also a wider free and pluralistic system where the elected enjoy true
power to govern; where the executive power to govern is not arbitrary but constrained constitutionally; where
all other groups are allowed to participate in politics and/or have the freedom and pluralism to present their
views outside politics, in Civil Society and where there is an effective rule of law to protect individuals freedoms
of belief, opinion, speech, publication, assembly, petition, etc. (Diamond 1997, p.3).
1
the west and their activities overseen by them, and there have always been this conspiracy
theory put forward by some African scholars, politicians and media accusing the west of
double standards and neo-colonialism in Africa, an act which is associated with economic,
political, and socio-cultural exploitation; and which according to them is one of the main
obstacles to the slow rate of democracy and development in SS Africa. So by x-raying the
activities of these international actors, clues would surely emerge from which we can reach
rational conclusions on whether these accusations are correct or false.
Methodologically, this research topic is an applied and empirical one and the approach I
am going to use is the qualitative paradigm. By this approach, I am going to be limited only in
the collection, analyzing and interpretation of data. After some preliminary literature review, I
realized that reliable data and information in this field is very limited though covering a
multiple of sources including primary and secondary. So with my research design, I am going
to be very flexible and open in my data collection and analysis, applying inductive reasoning
whenever and to be so subjective in my interpretation since it is difficult to come out with
concise and accurate measurable analyses and results like in quantitative research. To obtain
my results, I plan to come out with a clear and concise meaning of democracy from whence I
will use to compare and test for compatibility with the data on the policies of the actors, and
from there I will know whether they are aimed at promoting democracy or not. The entire
research is nevertheless explained using some different theories in IR,
This thesis has been formally arranged into different headings for easy understanding.
Apart from the Abstract, Acknowledgement, List of Acronyms and Abbreviations, List of
Tables, Table of Content and Introduction at the beginning, and Conclusion and List of
References at the end, the work is divided into chapters and sub-chapters. Chapter one acts
like an introduction to Social scientific research and comprises seven sub-chapters. Chapter
two titled the Concept of Democratization, introduces the topic of study and comprises five
sub-headings. Chapter three introduces other forces from within that equally have much
stakes including the civil society and local media. Chapter four focuses on the work of
international actors in the sub-region and more precisely the IGOs while chapter five dwells
on INGOs and chapter six on other actors which are neither IGOs nor INGOs. Chapter seven
evaluates the overall activities of the actors and tries to point out those challenges that faces
SS Africa in its bid to become one democratic region of the world, and closes with possible
solutions to these challenges and a way forward.
2
CHAPTER ONE
1 : 1 Background Study of Region
SS Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of African continent south of the
Sahara desert. It is made up of forty-nine of the fifty-four nations which makes the continent.
The other part is the Muslim North which includes Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Algeria and
Tunisia. The region of SS Africa is known as black Africa in reference to its too many black
populations which numbered at approximately one billion in 20112. The Sahel is the
transitional zone which separates the tropical savanna and semi-desert of North Africa with
the forest savanna of SS Africa. Climatically, the region is made up of about four different
ecological breaks which include the desert climate of the Sahara and the horn of Africa
(Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti), the semi-arid climate of the Sahel, the tropical
climate of Central and Western Africa and the transitional semi-tropical and temperate
climates of Southern Africa. The topography of this region is diversified with plains,
highlands and mountains. The Kilimanjaro Mountain (5.895m above sea level) located in
Tanzania is the highest point while Lake Asal (153m below sea level) is the lowest3.
Economically, the region according to the UN Human development Report of 20034, is
the poorest in the world with twenty-five of its nations ranked lowest among the one hundred
and seventy-five countries reviewed. The economy relies mostly on agriculture for its upkeep.
Agriculture represents 20% to 30% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 50% of its
export. Industrialization and advanced technology is still at its infancy and most
manufacturing is in light-weight products such as food processing, brewery, paper, chemicals,
plastics, etc. 50% of the region is rural with no access to electricity and has just barely 0.6%
of global market share of electricity and most of it generated by hydropower. There is acute
shortage of road infrastructure and spending on roads averages just 2% of GDP with varying
degree among countries. Other systems of communication such as the railway, airways and
shipping are also not well developed. The region has one of the richest mineral deposits in the
world, with minerals such as gold, copper, uranium, chrome, bauxite, iron ore, manganese,
etc, produced and exported in large scale. One-third of global oil reserve is found here and
production has been gathering strong momentum, The oil and mineral sector, coupled with
2
http://exploredia.com/africa-population-2011/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Africa
4
Check out for UNDP Human Development Report; http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2003/
3
3
other factors like diversified economies and improved global trade has in recent years
generated a dramatic and positive shift in the economic growth of this sub-region.
Socially, SS Africa is home to some of the world´s most deadliest diseases such as
malaria, tuberculosis, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immune
Virus (HIV). The region tops the list of countries or territories by fertility rate and though
more than 40% of the population is younger than fifteen, child mortality remains very high 5.
However in recent years national and international health-care reforms and efforts have
resulted to more efficient and equitable provision of health services all over the entire subregion. The fight against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS has been made a top priority in the
health policy of most of the countries of the region. In education, poverty, conflicts and lack
of basic schooling facilities and educators had had a devastating impact on literacy rate in the
sub-region. According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)`s report of 20006, just 52% of school-age children were enrolled in primary
schools with a higher level of participation by boys than girls in most countries. More than 40
million children, almost half the school-age child population receive no schooling and for
those who receive, four out of ten did not complete primary school in 2002/2003, this being
due to poor education policies and weak regulating mechanisms. However, the holding in
2010 of the World Education Forum and the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) induced some hopes.
Politically, the region is home to forty-nine sovereign and independent states each of
which is ruled by a sovereign government and each with a unique history of colonial
domination. Before the arrival of the colonialists and subsequently democracy, it had been
inhabited by as many as thousands of political organizations and polities, most of which
included small family groups and roving bands of hunter-gatherers scattered all over the
forests, savannah and deserts. They had no clear-cut geo-political boundaries and in many
areas, the populations formed strings of dynastic states and kingdoms. Jealousy, conflicts over
lands and political supremacy dominated the daily lives of these early people and always
culminated to constant break-ups and migrations prior to the arrival of the Europeans, who
came in different intervals. The first arrival of Europeans to SS Africa as from the 14th
century were explorers whose presence was felt only around the coastal regions and in
isolated areas of natural attraction. The second European Arrival Started from the 16th through
5
6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_fertility_rate
Check out for full UNESCO Report 2000; http://www.unesco.org/education/information/wer/
4
the 17th and 18th centuries, when European mercantilism and imperialism in Asia and the
Americas had led to the opening of vast plantations to supply raw materials to the massive
industrialization that had begun in Europe. Due to shortage of man-power, trade in slaves was
introduced. Africa was the immediate breeding ground and the European traders had to whisk
and ship away more than Ten million7 able men and woman from SS Africa to these
plantations. An international condemnation about the morality of the trade finally brought it to
a halt in the late 18th century. The third phase of European involvement in SS Africa was from
the 1880s, this time they partitioned the entire continent into colonies, and for almost a
century, they exercised a firm political and economic control over the people. This was the
turning point in the history of Africa since theoretically two important ideas came into play.
Firstly, the Westphalian concept of state sovereignty, territorial integrity and the principle of
non-intervention was introduced as political and geographical boundaries were drawn (Jan
Nederveen Pieterse 1992) and secondly, it ushered in the idea of democracy.
The process of democratization in SS Africa could also be examined in different phases;
The first phase was in late 1950s as countries engaged in the struggle for national
independence while the second phase was in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the entire
continent rose up in a concerted manner to clamour for democratization and good governance
from the entrenched autocratic and repressive political leaders who had taken over from the
colonial masters. The electoral processes in the 1950s varied from colony to colony in
accordance with the whims and caprices of the colonial master in charge. Any attempts at
competitive elections were done under the auspices and design of the colonial powers, from
whose perspective it was a form of ´tutelary` democracy that Africans were supposed to learn
as a precondition for independence ( Lindberg 2006, pp9). Pre-independence leaders such as
Kwame Nkrumah, Kenneth Kaunda, Julius Nyerere, Leopold Senghor and Njomo Kenyatta,
accelerated and forced the process leading to the holding of national elections much earlier, a
situation which hastened the exit of most of the colonial masters right up to the 1960s. The
new Africa that emerged was controlled by new system of governments and administrations
headed by some of these indigenous leaders who tried to approach the double task of national
development and national integration by insisting on national uniformity, a situation which set
into motion a reversal towards autocracy and repression across the continent. By means of
election, merger or coercion, the vibrant multiparty system of politics which began at the
onset gradually came to a halt and more than 20 one-party regimes were rapidly formed
7
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080219044020AAvpZRH
5
across Africa and the era of military coups was initiated8. They attempted to justify this shift
towards single-party rule by claiming that it was more suitable for economic development and
nation building, projects that became very necessary following decolonization and citing that
multi-party politics would only lead to ethnic conflicts (Adejumobi 2000). This era of
repression continued until the early 1990s when the second wave of democratization began
associated with the coming into stage of most of the international actors that we are going to
find in this study. So this research will focus more on this second phase of democratization
which started in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
1:2 Statement of Problem
The study of political change in Africa still suffers from inadequate theoretical
specifications, methodological rigor, and, perhaps most of all insufficient collection of data
suitable for comparative analysis (Lindberg, 2006, p4).If we compare the situation in Africa
with the extensive research on democracy in Europe, Latin America, Asia and North America
we will realize Africa has received far less attention especially during the period before and
after1990s which is the focus of this thesis; and very little too have been said about the
presence and/or role of international actors who had started focusing their attention in this
region during this period following the demise of the Soviet Union and Communism in 1989.
From that period, so many international bodies have been directly and indirectly involved in
the process of democratization, performing tasks and functions that has not been coherently
described, discussed and questioned. So the main aim of this piece of research work is to
identify these actors, elaborate what policies they have been carrying as far as democracy is
concerned and then finally coming to a critical conclusion whether such activities have so far
been beneficial in promoting democracy or not. To successfully realize this work, light must
first of all be shed on the extent of democracy in this region, how it has been carried, why it
has been taking different trajectories and what attract the involvement of international actors.
The relevance of this research topic to the academic world and to IR cannot be
overemphasized. ln this era of globalization, events and activities are becoming more complex
and multidimensional. Global governance has become the main system used by international
political actors to run world affairs. Politics, economics and social activities all are getting
8
Ibid. pp10.
6
more interconnected and interwoven. On the other side the international actors themselves
work almost in an interconnected and complex network; civil society with media, military
with civilians, human rights activists with donors, regional bodies with peacekeepers, etc,. So
here with democracy as the converging point, this research would throw light on the
increasing complexity of activities by international actors to achieve the goal of
democratization. In order to come to a satisfactory conclusion, this researcher is going to
employ some theories in International Relations (IR) patterning to this topic in question
during the data collection, management, analyzing, evaluation and interpretation. Also, these
theories working as conceptual frameworks would be used to probe into the empirical part of
democracy in Sub Saharan Africa and conclusions shall be drawn only from the salient events
that relate to the theories involved.
My choice of this topic came as a result of the fact that several of the international actors
involved in democracy in SS Africa originates from the west and their activities overseen by
them, and there had always been this conspiracy theory put forward by some contemporary
African scholars, politicians and media accusing the west of neo-colonialism and double
standards in Africa which is associated with economic, political, social and cultural
exploitation; and which according to them is one of the main obstacles to the slow rate of
democracy and development in SS Africa. So by x-raying the activities of these international
actors, clues would surely emerge from which we can reach rational conclusions on whether
these accusations of double standards and/or ineffectiveness are correct or false.
For this piece of work to be described as successful, it has to effectively prove that it can
identify the region of SS Africa, the extent and system of democracy practiced there, why the
difficulties to correctly emulate the type of democracy found in the west, which international
actors are involved there, who they are, when and how they operate as far as democratization
is concerned and finally critically examining whether the policies they carry encourages
and/or discourages democracy and good governance. This last point is coming to light
because several authors, local politicians and media houses in recent years have also criticized
many international bodies such as the IMF, UN and Super powers over their rolls in political
and economic developments in the less developed countries (LDC) as shroud with personal
interest and double standards. A recent clear example could be seen in the March 17, 2011
UN Resolution 1973 on Libya, authorizing the international community to establish a no-fly
zone and to use all means possible short of military occupation to protect Libya civilians from
their brutal former leader Moummar Ghaddafi. However, in practice the mission turned out to
7
be one of regime change championed by Britain, France and the United States (US). Other
examples could also be seen in the IMF policies in the LDC which at times are described as
controversial and bias, and much detested by the smaller states.
In order to properly probe into the activities of international actors in SS Africa, we have to
take each actor at a time, briefly examine its overall efforts at democratization in the subregion and then making some analysis citing a number of countries as examples.
1 : 3 Research Methodology and Designs
Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a research problem, with specific
components such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools. As such, methodology may
entail a description of generic processes, philosophical concepts or theories related to a
particular discipline or a field under study. A research design on the other hand is a plan,
structure and strategy of investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to research questions
or problems. It includes an outline of what the investigator will do from writing the
hypothesis and their operational implications to the final analysis of data (Ranjit 2011, p.94
on Kerlinger 1986).
Critically examining the role of international actors in the democratization of SS Africa is
an empirical and applied research topic and the approach l am going to employ is mainly the
qualitative paradigm as oppose to quantitative. Qualitative techniques in the social sciences
and also in this research shall involve the use of methodology or the collection, analyzing and
interpretation of data. This technique generally falls under the interpretivist approach and
from a radical stand point of the approach, reality does not exist beyond the (relative and
partial) images the various actors have of it. Knowing the reality is therefore impossible and
scholars should focus on the meaning through empathetic knowledge (Porta, Donatello &
Keating, 2008, p.25). Apart from the analyses of tables, figures and graphs, very little
emphasis is going to be paid on the use of variables and/or use of numbers and accurate
measurement in the general analysis since they work best with the quantitative paradigm. In
this regard, being a descriptive study, and according to the research design to be used in my
data collection, l am going to first of all locate the region of SS Africa, identify which
international actors are involved in the democratization process there, describe what policies
they undertake as far as democracy is concerned and then critically testing the data collected
8
with the basic tenets of democracy to know whether they are compatible or not. After testing
this data, is from thence that we could deduce whether the activities of the actors in the area
had been meant for the promotion of democracy or for other purposes and/or interest.
Taking into account the limited availability of reliable data and information, and
considering the fact that all along l will be striving to maintain flexibility, openness and
freedom, l will primarily apply inductive reasoning during the data collection; try to formulate
the problem several times by including new ideas and excluding old ones which l could later
find not relevant. And because it is very difficult to come out with concise and accurate
measurable analyses and results, facts, ideas and observed phenomenon l will be more
subjective in my interpretations. I will collect my data from multiple sources including
secondary and primary, some of which includes interviews, lecture materials, focus groups,
oral history, participant observation, books, academic journals, articles, etc. With the
exception of primary sources, a majority of my secondary sources (books, journals and
articles) data have been gotten from libraries and the internet.
The multiplicity of the sources of my information shall make it possible for me to first of all
be able to compare, check and evaluate different sources against each other so as to achieve
the best results and secondly to be able to draw conceptual frameworks of the different
aspects of the problem that l use in my investigation. After reviewing all available literature
and after cross-checking and comparing the different sources l realized that the situation in SS
Africa had been one of democratic transition and in that vein l came up with some theories
such as realism/classical realism to explain the persistency of authoritarianism in SS Africa,
and liberalism, institutionalism and social constructivism theories to explain transition
towards democracy through the efforts of international actors.
The exercise has nevertheless been so stressful as going through the literatures found in
different locations had been so daunting and time consuming, and my flexibility and freedom
in choice of materials have started creating me much problems in terms of comparability and
evaluation of the information gathered.
1 : 4 Scope and Limitation of Study
This research topic ´´The Role of International Actors in the Democratization of SS Africa:
A Critical Appraisal, covers an impressive array of issues in democratization in Africa and
9
governmental and non-governmental bodies. It is all about a study of democracy using SS
Africa as a case study, and international actors as key players. To make it more explicit, l
would put the explanations as answers to the questions; what, who, when and how ?
What: In social sciences to know what a research question is we must first of all recognize
the existence of an issue, situation, problem or phenomenon that requires answers or
solutions. So in our case of SS Africa there is the problem of authoritarianism. Attempts by
local citizens at liberalization through elections and other democratic means have always met
stiff resistance, and couple to that, bad governance and poor managements has completely
weakened and destroyed the economies thereby bringing economic woes to add to those of
politics. The resulting consequences has been the conspicuous appearance of post-election
violence, coups, civil wars, diseases, famine, etc; ills whose solutions are beyond the control
of the local people and thereby necessitating the involvement of external bodies to mitigate.
Who: Here we have to identify those who constitute the study population. Our scope of
study here shall focus first on the people of SS Africa especially the civil society and the
governments and then on the state and non-state actors who directly or indirectly involve in
the democratic crisis that have been plaguing the sub-region.
When: The scope of this study shall cover the period from the late 1980s to present. This is
because at this time and for the first time since independence, the people of SS Africa
concertedly rose up to challenge the entrenched authoritarianism that had kept them under
suppression by means of massive riots and strike actions; and during this time too, the Soviet
Union and Communism had witnessed their demise and international politics consequently
shifted to this region as it became the most pressing political hotspot at the time.
How: Efforts at democratizing SS Africa have been championed by international players with
the assistance of local civil society. Methods applied by international actors includes, good
governance policy, economic and political structural adjustment policies, peacekeeping, peace
building policies, monitoring cease fires, election supervision, use of force, implementation of
the rule of law, human rights promotion, etc.
This study is nevertheless limited only to SS Africa, excluding the Arab-north of Africa. It
investigates only democracy and democracy-oriented activities including general dynamics in
the entire democratization process in the sub-region and involves only the afore-mentioned
10
international bodies and the domestic governments and civil society. The timeframe is from
late 1980s till present.
1 : 5 Expected Results and lmplications
After going through all the regular processes of data collection, data management and
processing, data evaluation and analyzing, and data interpretation, l will finally come to
expected results. To achieve this, l will carefully compare the compatibility of the final data
with the basic tenants of democracy. From the comparism, l will be able to deduce whether
the results obtained are for democracy or not. Such results must also be able to answer some
questions like the following;

Is there any democracy in SS Africa?

If yes, why is it always marred by violence?

Are all the activities of the external actors democracy-oriented?

If no, the other part of the activities is for what purpose?

What could explain for the regular post-election violence and civil wars in SS
African?
From the results obtained, l will go further to evaluate its implications to the wider
political scene and to Africa. Most of the external actors are from the west, and in Africa,
most activities that are conducted by the west are always viewed with suspicion - suspicion
of neo-colonialism and/or double standards. There is always this blame game where any
political failure must have a scapegoat, in which the western countries are usual victims too.
So judging from the situation on the ground and from the final implications, we are going to
uncover truth which will help finally put this issue of suspicion and blame to rest.
Lastly, the results gathered could be used for policy formation by governments and
organizations, for administrative purpose, and for the enhancement of the understanding of a
phenomenon in descriptive study.
11
1 : 6 Literature Review
As far as democracy in SS Africa is concerned, not enough literature has been written on it
compared to other regions of its calibre in the world, not to talk of the activities of external
actors there. The only few available literature is nevertheless written mostly by African
scholars and which frequently lacks in consistency. The vast majority of materials found are
written on democracy in general. Many of the external players working on the
democratization process in Africa also have a wide volume of literature which covers mostly
their global operations and outlook, and narrowing down when it comes to SS Africa. In this
regard, l went in for multiple sources to search for data including primary and secondary
source, some of which includes interviews, lecture materials, focus groups, books, journals,
articles, etc. With the exception of primary sources, a majority of my secondary source data
(books, journals and articles) have been gotten from libraries and online book stores in the
internet.
Literature for the entire thesis is very diversified and broad since the research topic too
covers a very wide area. Major areas of literature review include; democracy (in general and
Africa in particular), the individual actors, IOs, the different theories of IR, and research
methodology. During my search, l however came across certain books which deal on issues
that encompass democracy in SS Africa to the activities of most of these external players.
Such works includes Larry J. Diamond (1997), Hyden Goran (2006), Peter Gibbon, Yusuf
Bangura and Arve Ofstad (1992) and Rita Kiki Edozi (2009). Most of these materials are
previously published works and have been peer reviewed and I found most of them online in
bookstores. l have been scanning over the internet too for general knowledge on several key
areas of my topic though. The structuring of my literature has been taking some order similar
to that put forth by Neil Murray and Geraldine Hughes (2009) such as;

Grouping texts (articles, chapters, books, etc) according to the similarity of their ideas,
and commenting on the main ideas rather than paraphrasing or simply quoting them..

Grouping studies that focus on similar phenomena or share similar methodologies.

Comparing and contrasting the different studies, view points, methodologies, etc, and
identifying for the reader those which have the greatest bearing on my research
My primary sources are however very limited because accessibility, cost and time does
not permit me to have much of it. The wide variety in Libraries, internet and other sources
suffices though.
12
CHAPTER TWO
CONCEPT OF DEMOCRATIZATION
2 : 1 Empirical Outlook of Democracy
Democracy is an aged-old word of Greek origin which was coined from `demos´ meaning
people and `kratos´ meaning rule or governing, making its original definition to sum up as
rule or government by the people9. While there have not been any contemporary universally
accepted definition for democracy because of its different moral, social and political agendas,
it is generally seen as a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the
people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a periodically free
electoral system. It is underpinned by the principles of equality and freedom and works on the
assumption that the people must be sovereign; that the legitimacy of the state is created by
the will or consent of its people who are the source of all political power. As a concept, its
principles of equality and freedom ensures that all citizens are equal before the law and
having equal access to legislative and electoral processes, right to life and happiness, equal
opportunities, equal gender rights, ethnic rights, right to training and jobs, right to free choices
such as clothing, music, religion, education, movements, books, movies, marriage, rights for
animals, children, ecosystem, etc., in short, virtually in all areas of life and not only in
governments and states. It upholds majority rule or majority vote as the basis of every
decision though on the other hand it recognizes certain values which ensures that the majority
does not oppress the minority and have as tenets the ideals of humanism and individual
recognition and respect.
Several scholars hold conflicting views on the definition and operation of democracy and
their arguments depends on whether as Alex Woolf (2005 p4) puts it, is it democracy that
concerns us as individuals such as what to eat, what to wear, where to sleep, etc, or making
decision as members of a group be it our family, school, neighbourhood or our country. It
would also depend on the type of democracy unanimously accepted by a people. Writers like
Vanhanen (1984a) look at it as a political system in which different groups are legally entitled
to compete for power and in which institutional power holders are elected by the people and
are responsible for the people. Similarly, David Held (2006) holds that it is a form of
government in which in contradistinction to monarchies, aristocracies, the people rule.
Democracy entails a political community in which there is some form of political equality. On
9
http://democracy-handbook.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
13
the other hand Schmitter & Karl, (1991) believe it to be a system of governance in which
rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly
through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives. However, to a pupil
in the primary school, he or she will tell you it is a government of the people, for the people
and by the people. So the definitions abound and all depend on the political, social and
economic setup around which each scholar conducts his or her research.
Two major types of democracy exist; direct and representative democracies. Direct
democracy which functions best in a small socio-political set-up is a system where the
citizens participate in the decision-making personally, rather than relying on intermediaries or
representatives. A direct democracy gives the voting population the power to change
constitutional laws, participate in referendums, etc. On the contrary, representative
democracy is founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people. Arend
Lijphart (1999), argues that representative system of democracy is the most commonly
practiced system among the western nations today, and went further to divide the system into
two models; the Westminster and the Consensus. He stressed that the Westminster model, the
model in the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand has a two-party unicameral legislature
with a majoritarian system of election, interest groups plurality, no judicial review, enough
constitutional flexibility but a government which is very centralized and dominated by the
cabinet. On the other hand, the Consensus model tries to strike a balance in power sharing
between the executive and the legislature. This system which is popular among democracies
like Belgium and Switzerland is characterized by a multi-party bicameral legislature,
constitutional rigidity, proportional representation, judicial review, interest group corporation
and a federal or decentralized form of government. Lijphart ended up remarking that most
democracies of the world today including the US and most European nation, falls ´in
between` the two models, finally contending that consensus democracies when contrasted
with the Westminster or majoritarian arrangements, are ´´kinder, gentler`` types of
institutional settings10.
Democracy is not just a system of government that is established and then forgotten. It is
a kind of culture that requires constant nurture and care, and which needs the right conditions,
institutions and traditions for it to continue to exist. These institutions of democracy are
defined by law, while the traditions evolve from history and cultural habits and are harder to
10
Ibid. pp 301-302.
14
define. If we do not actively keep democracy alive with debate and free elections it will die.
Some of these institutions and traditions that act as a foundation for a strong democratic
structure includes ; impartial and independent courts, a good constitution, a legislature elected
by the people, an open administration with a system of checks and balances, a strong civil
society, free press, free movement, rule of law, strong Police force, political parties, secured
and recognized borders, good infrastructure network, universal suffrage, elections by secret
ballots, open debates, a working or middle class, a liberalized market system, social services,
an educated population and a culture of tolerance and openness especially against minorities
amongst others. These democracy´s institutions, traditions and laws altogether sum up to form
the liberal ideology, the main axis on which proponents of modern democracy or the Western
powers evolves.
Often some of these institutions and conditions of democracy contradict one another, and
it is through these “clashes” that democracy works. For instance, the free press and the
government tend to disagree frequently. There may be different and conflicting interests at
stake on certain issues, freedom of speech being one example. On the one hand, it is
fundamental to a working and healthy democracy that people can speak openly and honestly
about anything without fear. On the other hand, it is damaging to a society if that right of free
speech is abused and used to promote hate and violence. In such a case, civil society starts to
fall apart and democracy is threatened.
Since the introduction of democracy, it had never been easy to sustain it and on several
occasions over the years, it had almost gone out of existence. The most major threats to
democracy include wars and terrors brought about by totalitarian regimes. Totalitarian
ideologies such as Fascism, Nazism and Communism used the populist strategies and almost
overran and rid the world of democracy during and after the two world wars of 1914 and
1939. Gangs, mafias and local militias´ use of violence also help to compound the situation.
Other menaces includes; corruption, chauvinism and racism, religious extremism, trafficking,
dictatorship, totalitarian capitalism, an uncontrolled market economy, superficial and shallow
media, terrorism, censorship, lack of education, corporatism, etc.
It could however be concluded that after all democracy is not only important, it is vital
simply because we are all humans, we need freedom and equality, in short, we all deserve to
live in a democracy that works.
15
2 : 2 Democracy and the African Context
Democracy was introduced to SS Africa for the first time by the European imperialists
by the middle of the 20th century just at a time that the entire region was preparing for
nationhood11. The first generation of indigenous African leaders who took over the mantle of
leadership from the colonialists were regularly elected through free and fair multi-party
elections introduced and overseen by these colonial masters. In a bid to galvanize national
development and national integration, they started insisting for national uniformity, a decision
which saw the transformation of the vibrant multiparty politics that prevailed in Africa at the
time into one-party politics. The resulting effect was that an entrenched autocratic and
repressive political system gripped the entire sub-continent, an effect which later acted like a
catalyst and provided the incentives and legitimacy for the popular concerted struggles for
democratization and good governance that took place in the late 1980s and 1990. Before these
revolutions, the economic, political and social situations in SS Africa had rapidly deteriorated.
Their foreign debt had reached 290 billion dollars in 1992 and average GDP growth rates for
all the countries fell from 6.1% in 1965-73 to 2.1% in 1980-8912. The region became the most
debt-distressed region in the world and debt servicing began to drain massive resources.
Credit lines were closed as many countries could no longer pay for imports and foreign
reserves were severely depleted. Expenditures on health and social services declined by 26%,
educational institutions deteriorated to unprecedented levels and governments could no longer
pay salaries. Crimes, violence, riots, prostitution, and social atavism increased as it became
more and more difficult for rural and urban people to survive, etc. (Bamidele (ed)1999: p,68).
Enkindled by the afore-mentioned factors and coupled with a new-found culture of
nationalism that had sprung up in the sub-region at the time, the masses led by civil society,
university students and civil servants, massively took to the streets of big cities demanding
good governance, multi-party politics and regime change in separate cases. This clamour for
democratic change which had been referred to as the ´´second wave of independence``
(Conteh-Morgan, 1997) or the ´´wind of change``, sparked off in the West African country of
Benin in late 1989, and then after, swooped through the entire continent like wild fire. Just
between January 1990 and July 1992, thirteen African Heads of States had been replaced, four
11
The history of elections in Africa even started as early as 1848 when a few ´´assimilated`` Africans in Senegal
were able to vote for a depute, a parliamentary representative to the French National Assembly (Hayward
1987,p1). Ruth Collier (1982) also add that the few elections held before 1945 were highly exclusive affairs
conducted among small elites in a few major cities.
12
Ibid. pp.63
16
of them – the Presidents of Benin, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Zambia – were voted out of
office, others such as Siad Barre of Somalia and Mengistu Haile Marian of Ethiopia had to
flee while the autocratic Samuel Doe of Liberia was murdered in the Liberian Civil War. The
democratic struggles triggered constitutional and political changes and reforms in many
countries compelling the holding of elections and granting of civil and political freedom
including multi-party system of politics. By 1994, forty-one out of the forty-seven countries
of SS Africa had been affected and had undergone significant political reforms and/or regime
changes. The table below expatiates on this:
Table i: Transition outcomes, SS Africa, December 1994
Precluded
Blocked
Flawed
Democratic
Transitions (2)
Transitions (12)
Transitions (12)
Transitions (16)
Liberia and
Somalia, Burundi,
Cameroon,
Sudan
Rwanda, Ethiopia,
Burkina Faso, Gabon,
Guinea Bissau, Mali,
Guinea, Nigeria,
Cote d´lvoire, Kenya,
Lesotho, Namibia,
Zaire, Uganda,
Mauritius, Swaziland,
Mozambique, Congo,
Angola, Sierra Leone,
Comoros, Ghana,
Zambia, Madagascar,
Chad and Tanzania.
Togo and
South Africa, Malawi,
Equatorial Guinea,
Sao Tome, Seychelles,
Djibouti, Benin, Cape Verde,
Niger and
Central African Rep.
Source: Michael Bratton and Nicolas Van de Walle (1997: p.20).
From the above table, precluded transitions comprised countries that could not make any
way forward because they were embroiled in armed conflicts and/or civil strives. Countries in
blocked transitions witnessed the launching of reforms which were never fully realized. While
flawed transitions involved countries where incumbents yielded to oppositions´ demands for
reforms and elections but later used their incumbency powers to exploit and manipulate the
electoral laws, monopolized campaign resources or interfered with the polls. By 1994, the
only five pre-existing democracies added up to the sixteen that emerged from democratic
transition to make twenty-one out of the forty-seven countries of SS Africa that could be said
to have obtained a minimum attribute of democracy. As of today, significant progress have
been made by Ghana under President John Ata Mills, Nigeria under Goodluck Jonathan,
17
Liberia under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Rwanda under Paul Kagame to upgrade their
countries to major democracies in the continent.
One of the most contending issues in the democratization process in SS Africa has been
that of election. Even though Lindberg (2006) argues that ``elections do not signal the
completion of transition to democracy but rather foster liberalization and have self-reinforcing
powers that promote democracy´´, the common people in SS Africa sees it as the only sine
qua non for any meaningful change. Following the granting of multi-party politics after the
uprisings of the 1990s, in almost every country parliamentary and presidential elections led to
more rhetoric and upheavals, situations which were mostly characterized by mounting
complexities, deadlocks, reverses and failures, mainly because political actors (incumbents,
military, ruling parties or main oppositions) does not want to lose. In almost every country,
incumbents, who usually play the role of a player and a referee, uses their incumbency powers
to do everything to remain in power. They encourage the creation of numerous political
parties - numbering in many cases into hundreds; and a plethora of aspiring candidates during
elections with the motive of seeing a fragmented opposition. They pay electorates to attend
campaign rallies, move from house to house dishing out monies and gifts, announcing the
creation of new schools, health centres and administrative units all in a move to cajole or woe
electorates, and mobilizes all state resources including logistics, finance, media and
manpower to the interest of the incumbents. In some countries like Cameroon, Togo, Gabon,
Cote d´lvoire, state employees could lose their jobs if the incumbents fail to win in their
constituencies and the opposition candidates are even molested and denied access by the
police and military to campaign in parts of the country that are strong-holds of the
incumbents. During voting, supporters of incumbents could possess more than one voter´s
card giving them multiple chances to vote. In Zambia, ballot boxes could be found with no
lids and ballot papers with no serial numbers. In Cameroon, the private media is banned from
publishing results trends as counting is underway while government spokespersons could
announce the final results while the counting is still going on. In general, winning candidates
who are often the incumbents always win with more than 90% of total votes casted, making
the whole exercise in SS Africa a complete masquerade, and over the years it has resulted to
massive voter apathy.
Michael Bratton and Nicolas Van de Walle (1997:p,68), stresses that ´´elections in SS
Africa are generally depicted as empty and largely symbolic exercises designed to legitimate
officeholders`` and that ´´the essential purpose of the ballot in this type of elections is to
18
provide the existing government with a semblance of popular approval``. The difficulty and
inability to evict incumbents who frequently carry out unconstitutional constitutional
amendments to add up terms of office and manipulate elections, over the years has been felt in
the frequency and intensity of military coups and civil wars in the sub-region. The table below
gives a generalized clue to this:13
Table ii : How African leaders left office , 1960 – 2003
Cause
1960-69
1970-79
1980-89
1990-99
2000-03
Total
27
30
22
22
6
107
2
3
4
3
0
12
1
1
1
1
0
5
1
2
5
9
2
19
Lost election
0
0
1
12
6
19
Other (interim/caretaker)
6
8
4
14
1
33
Overthrown in coups,
wars, or invasions.
Died of natural or
accidental cause
Assassinations (not part of
coups)
Retired voluntarily
Data from 1960 – 2003 adapted from Hyden (2006: p.19)
Democratization in SS Africa, even though Michael Bratton and Nicolas Van de Walle
(1997: p,110) describes it as ´´one step forward and two steps backward``, nevertheless has
witnessed so much advances. In most countries, basic freedoms and rights have been made
readily available more than ever before and ordinary citizens have become less fearful of state
powers and less inclined to stay silent and passive when civil liberties are trampled upon.
Independent civil society institutions like news publications and watchdog groups began to
effect checks and balances, however fragile, against the excesses of the dictators. And also
more political space has been created in almost every political domain. Such could be felt in
the increased number of seats in most legislatures and councils all over the sub-region.
Though the people of SS Africa are not yet fully empowered, they are at least emboldened
and this single-handed awakening in the democratization struggle has proven to be the most
profound innovation of Africa´s fight for liberalization and/or independence.
13
It should also be noted that some incumbents fearing persecution after leaving power will prefer to hand
over to constitutional successors whom they have trusted and/or groom up their children to take over from
them like the situations in Togo, Gabon and Congo Democratic Republic, rather than to elected successors.
19
2 : 3 Democracy in a Theoretical Perspective
Ronald and Thomas (2001) states on Robert Dahl that, ´´there is no single theory of
democracy; only theories``. Beyond the broad commitment to rule by the majority, democracy
involves a set of contentious debates concerning the proper functioning and scope of power,
equality, freedom, justice and interest. The discourse over the conceptualization of democracy
is just as old as the beginning of democracy itself and has attracted heated arguments and
debates over the years resulting to series of critical interpretations and reinterpretations.
Some of these profound disagreements could be traced to the permanent tension between
democracy as an ideal, on the one hand, and as a set of actual public institutions on the other.
The deep rooted and diverse nature of these democratic ideals and public institutions only
keep becoming complex and interwoven and the many schools of thought that emerged since
the classical through the modern to the contemporary worlds have mainly been struggling to
carry on with this interpretation and reinterpretation. Many of the theories postulated looks at
democracy in various perspectives as far as opportunities and dangers associated with politics
is concerned, and more especially, much of the discourses are geared at looking at the
meanings and purposes of democratic principles and practices. Many modern day scholars are
of the opinion that the Liberal theory of democracy among the many existing theories has
been the under-pinning theory that could be used most to conceptualize democracy, and is
closely linked to the Republican tradition. Nevertheless, several other contemporary theories
in participatory democracy, pluralist democracy, performance democracy and protective
democracy have helped to intensify the debate despite the so many critics. The sub-topics
below gives a wider elaboration;
2 : 3 : 1 Approach as a Universal Concept
Democracy as an institution to run general affairs of society is an invention of a much
earlier period dating from the time of the ancient Greeks, and so too is the debate over its
conceptualization. Democratic theories pursue their thoughts in intellectual vacuums no more
than do theories of any subject; and Aristotle, Tocqueville, and Schumpeter are among the
prominent traditional thinkers often and appropriately referred to in current writings and each
of these classic predecessors confronts democracy with serious challenges (Cunningham,
2005, p6). Much of the works of these early democratic theorists had to do with the division
20
of society into social classes with contradictory materialistic interests, which throws also
some light on the modern-day problems of democracy. Most philosophers however were
critical of the Greek system just because it rested on slavery and excluded women and
foreigners from decision-making.
Generally, all democratic theories share the view that each member of the political
community carries elementary rational capacities that are sufficient to judge the conduct of
government. For such judgments to have meaning democratic citizens are expected to be free
in several important respects; they must be free regarding such matters as speech, assembly
and conscience. For some, these sorts of freedoms are liberal rights, but for many democrats,
these and allied freedoms are valued independently of our liberal inheritance as essential
components of an open regime that is accountable to citizens (Ronald and Thomas, 2001, p6).
They also have a share vision of a government by free and equal citizens who participate in
their own governance. Public office is not the property of the incumbents and theoretically
belongs to the citizens who can reclaim it in an orderly and peaceful way. They equally agree
on the ideal that public power flows from public approval and that the law reflects public
preferences. They therefore, assume that public officials are responsible for their conduct and
accountable to citizens and that present politics can be changed.
In modern political thought democratic theories are categorized on how they
conceptualize the people, citizenship, majority and minority. To most of modern scholars, the
issue of majority and minority are very contradictory and has led to a distortion in the
presentation of problems especially when we account it merely on elections and legislative
issues. In their construction of what might be the best form of government, the antiquity
Republicanist Aristotle in his writing, ´´Politics`` referred to the majority as the poor, that is,
expropriated sections of society and the minority he described as propertied nobility while
modern liberalist John Stourt Mills, on the tyranny of the majority, has to question what might
be the result if subordinate classes, the vast majority of population, are franchised. All these
contradictions had been part of the motivating factors for the upsurge of political debates over
the years for the best form of democratic government.
The concept of democracy rotates around some key allied terms including citizenship,
freedom, equality and participation. Giving a clear definition and explanation to each of these
terms would make the meaning and purpose of democracy clearer. This is an idea which has
been a main focus, generating the intense debate in the democratic discourse that had been
21
going on over the years. Other issues too such as the role of interest in politics and power in
politics have aggravated the debates and had contributed in giving rise to the several
divergence and convergence of thoughts that had resulted to the surfacing of more theories.
On the issue of citizenship, early philosophers like Aristotle tie it to the ownership of
private property while all other contemporary and twentieth-century scholars disagree.
Friedrick Hayek´s civic republicans and communitarians proceed to argue on the other hand
that the free citizen can only flourish politically in a community where traditions are strong
and civic duty is widely respected, and also feel that the character of their citizens determines
the character of the republic. If citizens are civically virtuous, the republic can be expected to
thrive, but if they are self involved or lethargic, we should anticipate a politics of
fragmentation and corruption leading towards decay14 . Liberal democrats wants to extend the
scope of citizenship beyond conventional participation such as voting to previously nonpolitical areas of life, and still many of them disagree with the republicans and worry that an
emphasis on community and duty can displace fundamental rights as the central commitment
of a democratic regime.
Another highly contested area when conceptualizing democratic politics is power. Power
in this type of politics is aimed at the widest distribution to its citizenry as much as possible.
This, so many theorists have agreed but controversies over what power means and how it can
be shared among the citizenry abound. As a matter of fact, the very features of political life
that some identify as abuses of power in a democracy, others find to be essential to the
emancipation of individuals and an indispensable component of full political equality. For
some, the primary site of the abuse of power is located in the state, with its proclivity to
interfere with the freedom of its citizen while others think it has myriad locations and is not
confined to institutional sites, public or private, but circulates throughout society: in the
family and race relations, in schools and the media, in the workplace, and even within the
seemingly neutral spheres of knowledge, the sciences and technology.
Interest as one of the driving forces in politics has been very contentious too. Socrates,
one of the pioneer theorists in this area took a leading stand by arguing that for any good
democratic government to prevail; those who rule must not put their interests ahead of the
good of the whole. For this reason, Socrates wants his philosopher kings and queens to do
without family and private property, for such attachments distract rulers from searching for
14
Ibid. pp.8
22
justice. Hence interest needs to be banished from politics15. This stand has been widely
accepted by many theorists but controversies still arise around the extent of its involvement
and Socrates' strictures regarding the family and property. These critics find that interests
corrupt political language and make agreement about a common good difficult, if not
impossible. For their part, supporters of interests in democratic politics find that interests are
an inescapable and necessary part of political life, and efforts to silence or thwart them
threaten to disarm the many against those who already enjoy a preponderance of power16.
From the above theoretical discourse, we can deduce that conceptualizing people,
citizenship, majority and minority and allied terms like power and interest amongst others had
been the main focus of the democratic debates over the years. These debates had contributed
to give rise to the several divergence and convergence of thoughts resulting to the several
theories and/or schools of thoughts surrounding the concept of democracy.
2 : 3 : 2 Approach within an African Model
Governance in SS Africa had been characterized by a dominance of authoritarian rule and a
subsequent effort at transition through the introduction and stabilization of democracy by the
local people and the international community. So we are going to address this theoretical
discourse on the African model in three dimensions; democracy and authoritarianism,
democracy and civil society and democracy and IO. Transition from dictatorship to
democracy takes the forms of demilitarization of social and political life; liberalization of civil
society; and the democratization of the rules governing political and economic competition.
To start looking for solutions on why transition is hard to go by, it is important first to always
find out why authoritarianism has persisted in SS Africa.
The basis for authoritarian rule should be located primarily at the level of material
relations. Backed by the classical realists believe that the fundamental reason why states are
egoistic and constantly in need of wealth and power is human nature, wealth accumulation has
become an integral part of authoritarianism and has proven to be one of the most strongest
structural reasons for its persistent existence. On this, Habermas (1973) contends that ´´the
quest for stable accumulation and political order requires the state to supplant the market as
15
16
Ibid.
Ibid.pp.10
23
the principal steering mechanism for the social and economic system to effect ´a social class
compromise` through welfare programmes and high wage levels that are set ´quasipolitically```. Trying to bring more clarity on the issue, Peter Gibbon et al (1992: p.41)
suggests that this wealth accumulation takes the form of wage-exploitation monopolistic
practices, incorporating both national and international enterprises; rent-seeking state
capitalism17; and the regulation of petty commodity production18. He concluded that this
encourages the growth of authoritarian values. In most SS African countries, the principles of
collective bargaining are still poorly developed and the credit union still grapples with the
problems of recognition and organization and the right to participate in the determination of
working conditions. This lack of a neutral monitoring organ encourages the rise of
transnationals, local firms and other dominant groups in the economy and society to
appropriate rent and/or siphon state resources. Peter Gibbon, citing on Bhagwati (1982)
argues that rent seeking activities cause developing economies to operate at sub-optimal
levels. Neo-classical political economies confirms the impact of these groups by associating
economic distortion in the developing economies with the emergence of powerful urban
coalitions who use their privileged access to state resources to exploit rural communities
(Gibbon et al,1992 on Bates,1981 and Lofchie,1989).
Apart from wealth, another reason from the realist stand point which account for the
existence of authoritarianism is the love of power. The sheer pride of holding the scepter of
power, wielding political influence at home and abroad especially during official ceremonies,
moving in luxurious cars and living in great mansions, and having the population ´bow` to
you when you meet them have always been the dream of most African politicians and military
men. In fact they make things more possible by building a strong neo-patrimonial culture once
they climb to power, a culture characterized by a population that have been ´´brainwashed``
through the use of money, gifts and favours (clientelism culture) in order to persistently
guarantee their loyalty19. Clientelism has been a key mechanism through which political
interests have built the electoral support necessary to ensure access to the state's resources. In
turn, it has shaped a politics of factional competition over power and resources, a politics
17
Toyo (1985) and Iyayi (1986), examining the phenomenon in Nigeria as an example, demonstrates that rent
capitalism takes the form of contract inflation, the appropriation and valorization of land, and the use of
bureaucratic positions for corrupt enrichment.
18
Petty commodity production broadly covers activities where producers are basically self employed, rely on
family or non-waged labour and use of rudimentary tools and skills to sustain their livelihoods.
19
It is an asymmetric power situation in which clients (common citizens) are rewarded by politicians with public
resources (schools, health units, roads, water, etc) in return for electoral support or votes.
24
obsessed with the division of the political spoils (ROAPE, 1984). This culture equally
embodies all other ills necessary to impede democracy namely; greed, corruption, tribalism,
nepotism, censorship, lack of human rights, etc. The use of one-party system becomes a vital
tool to such regimes to cement this grip by driving out competitions and imposing restrictions
on the activities of trade unions and associations20. Neo-patronialism and clientelism prevents
self-development and social independence and is detrimental to the growth of democracy.
The theory of ethnic conflict is a major characteristic of authoritarianism and an obstacle
to democratization. Conflicts are aimed at gaining an objective and at the same time
attempting to injure, neutralize, or eliminate rivals (Horowitz, 1985, pp100). Democratization
is linked with the modernization of economy and polity and as a result, people´s aspirations
and expectations change, causing them to demand more and more goods, recognition and
power. As the demand orientations of these people turn to be mobilized towards a common
set of rewards, they come to desire precisely the same things, with the resulting consequences
being conflict. Modernity offers ethnic groups - due to its encouragement of class
stratification - unequal benefits and opportunities, and inequality in itself is a breeding ground
for conflicts. Economically, incompatibility in economic goals among the various groups in
an ethnic society have been a source of friction too, getting more compounded where there are
occupational monopolies since they give more trading opportunities to some than others.
Finally, the cultural differences of ethnic groups in SS Africa already are a source of conflict
already. Citing on M.G Smith, Horowitz intimates that ´´cultural pluralism consist of the
coexistence within a single society of groups possessing ´mutually incompatible` institutional
systems21. These differences imply differences of opinion and consequently conflict.
Theoretically too is the position of the civil society who has been part of the dynamics of
authoritarian rule and struggles for democratization in SS Africa. The civil society is situated
outside both material relations and state power. It offers the popular classes an opportunity to
deny the ruling class hegemony in the realm of ideas, values and culture, as a basis for the
ultimate seizure of power and transformation of capitalist property relations and the state
(ROAPE, 1984). The defense of seemingly economic interest – wages and welfare – acts like
a pulling factor to draw workers to organize themselves into unions to contest the ills in the
wider society by demanding accountability, right to free expression and collective bargaining,
and independent union organizations. This happens when a middle class of teachers,
20
21
Ibid. Pp46
Ibid. pp.136
25
journalists, lawyers, doctors and students who mainly comprise unions could realize that rentseeking activities may compound the fiscal crisis of the state, thereby threatening their jobs,
incomes and working conditions. They become more critical of corruption, inefficiency and
mismanagement and have conspicuously called for public probing into such ills22 as was
manifested in the holding of National Conferences all over SS Africa in the early 1990s.
Also too is IO whose quest for good governance and liberal reforms have been so crucial
for the promotion of democracy in SS Africa. The activities of most of those IOs that are
development-oriented are guided by the Social Constructivist theory. This theory stress that
the creation of IGO depends whether there is a consensus over values, norms and rules. These
normative tools are the binding force behind the life and success of an organization like the
IMF. Social Constructivism is a normative branch of idealism and it believes that state actors
don’t act according to selfish interest. Social constructivist´s idealism claims to explain
adequately the causes and consequences of the creation and functioning of International
Organizations. Another important theory that governs the activities of IOs in democratization
process is neo-institutionalism. It holds that a ”logic of appropriateness" guides the behaviour
of actors within an institution and that norms and formal rules of institutions will shape the
actions of those acting within them. Institutions operate in an environment consisting of other
institutions each influenced by the broader environment in which the main goal is to survive.
In order to do so, they need to do more than succeed economically; they need to
establish legitimacy within the world of institutions. Much of this relies on human behavior
through rules, norms and other frameworks.
The Liberal theory equally had been so vital in explaining the role of IOs in the
democratization of SS Africa. The period of African history according to this study had been
that of transition; liberation from authoritarianism to democracy. IOs use their belief in the
importance of liberty and equal rights to forge ahead their goals. They do this by calling for
free and fair elections, transparency, constitutionalism, human rights, freedoms, capitalism,
etc. With their good governance approach, they could check the expansion of states which
they believe is responsible for rent-seeking activities and the economic crisis. Liberal
democracy establishes a close relationship between the economy - referred to as levels of
development - and stable democratic rule (Huntington,1984, Vanhanen, 1989). Most of these
IOs believe that stable and sustainable democracy must be able to create a social system that
will accommodate the conflicting claims of diverse groups in the African society. In this
22
Ibid. pp.46
26
regard, they think they must devise appropriate social systems. Such systems must provide
welfare/economic support, however contestable, for the deprived majority to exercise their
formal democracy rights, which in turn should allow them to sustain and develop their
livelihood aspirations (Gibbon 1992 p.53). Classical liberals rely on the depoliticizing
functions of the market as the bedrock for the construction of such a stable social order. Such
is the system applied by social democrats. Also in another end are the neo-liberals who argue
that the proliferation of NGOs and independent small-scale producers, following the crisis and
market reforms, will eventually provide the foundations for the establishment of democracy
(Gibbon on Bratton, 1989a,b). They expect the business class to play a leading role in
democratization, arguing that market reforms will liberate the enterprising potentials of the
business groups and encourage them to opt for more democratic modes of government.
From the above analyses it is very obvious that conceptualizing democracy goes with
several theories just as looking for a definition for democracy had taken so many meanings.
All varies according to the context, place and time in question. The situation in SS Africa
which had been that of democratic transition had to embrace several theories to explain the
persistency of authoritarianism, and liberalism, institutionalism and social constructivism to
explain transition towards democracy through the efforts of international actors.
2 : 4 Why the Inconsistency in Democracy in SS Africa
Democratization in SS Africa had over the years been dangling on a balance; from the
vibrant multi-party politics of the 1950s and 60s following the departure of the colonial
masters, to the entrenched autocratic or ´big-man rule` of the late 1960s to late 80s, to the
mainly pseudo-democratic systems that sprang up on the aftermath of the pro-democracy
struggles of the early 1990s. A good number of factors have been responsible for these
oscillations;
Greed, corruption and embezzlement in SS Africa have been one of the factors behind
this dismal prospects and inconsistency in democratization, and the main cause of this
kleptocratic drive have to do with abject poverty. Having the weakest economies and GDPs in
the world, life has become more miserable for ordinary citizens in SS Africa. With a majority
of the people living barely on less than one dollar a day, basic social amenities like education
and good health have been hard to afford, making entire communities to turn to the
27
government for solutions. As a matter of fact, corruption have become so endemic and have
eaten deep into the inner fabrics of virtually all areas of authority including, governance,
politics, bureaucracy, military, police, the judiciary, etc. Placing an impossible high premium
on winning political office has become the order of the day because control of political
decisions and allocations have become the best instrument (or certainly one of the most
reliable) for accumulating personal wealth. Political offices has become sources of
contentions and had attracted the use of ´´all means possible`` including open electoral fraud,
corrupting the electoral process directly with money and ineffective oversight, threats and
even the use of witch doctors, to attain. Bribery and corruption are very unhealthy ingredients
for any democratic society. It breeds what Larry Diamond (1997) calls ´´uncivic society´´,
riven by a ´´culture of self-interest, fragmentation, exploitation, cynicism, distrust and
dishonesty ---``. It therefore contradicts decent, credible, trustworthy governance and the rule
of law, and has been one of the greatest obstacles to smooth transition from dictatorship to
democracy in SS Africa.
Violence, conflicts and wars have also been another main reason why SS Africa finds it
difficult to consolidate its democracy. In fact, Hyden, 2006 states that ´´in 1999, one-fifth of
all Africans lived in countries battered by fighting, and between 1970 and 2004 the twentyeight wars that had raged across the sub-region had resulted to more than seven million
refugees. In terms of human and material cost, the most devastating of the wars includes the
thirty-years war in Sudan (1972-2002), which claimed the lives of two million people,
Rwandan genocide (1994) which took the lives of eight-hundred thousand people, and the
twenty-seven years war in Angola that also claimed about half a million casualties``. Other
very deadly conflicts include the civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Congo DR.
Almost all of these conflicts are intra-state with the only remarkable inter-state being the war
that pitted Eritrea to Ethiopia. The main cause of most of these conflicts had to do with tribal
and ethnic divisions and hatred, and disagreements over elections outcome. At the end of
conflicts, efforts by international community at consolidating peace deals and pushing ahead
with peace building and transition to democratic rule has always been so hard to come by as
situations always remain volatile and occasional escalations not uncommon. The frequency of
coups adds up to compound the situation making transition to sustainable democracies an
odious task. This thereby confirms the words of Bratton and Nicolas (1997: p,110) who
describes the situation as ´´one step forward and two steps backward``.
28
Another reason for Inconsistency in consolidating democracy in SS Africa is the lack of a
cadre of highly trained professional economic technocrats who understand the domestic and
international dynamics of markets and the basic requirements for generating economic
growth. One of the main ingredients for state building – and therefore democracy building- is
the presence of economic analysts and policymakers who design and manage responsible
macroeconomics policies and development policies without exercise and embarrassing
reliance on international ´experts` who are often unable to adapt sound principles to Africa´s
particular realities (Diamond 1997:p14). The massive exodus to the West of thousands who
have succeeded to attain some levels of training due to very low salaries has made solutions
very hard to come by. Without a sound economic foundation, democracy can never be
sustained and it takes a good team of economic experts and professionals to build up this
foundation.
Weak military, police force and the judiciary to maintain law and order, limited and weak
democratic institutions such as political parties and civil society, legislature and the media, etc
has continuously remain a threat to smooth and sustainable democratic transition. The success
of any stable governance must have all these institutions fully formed to guide as its
foundation. In SS Africa, government patronage has virtually kept most of these institutions
under its control, relaxing its grip only when the heat is on and tightening again once pressure
subsides, making it hard for any meaningful and lasting democracy to prevail.
One final cause of democratic inconsistency in SS Africa is the role of ethnocracy and
neo-patrimonialism. When the colonial masters left in the 1960s, the new generation of
indigenous African leaders who took over decided to transform the vibrant multi-party
politics that existed at the time into one-party politics. The result was the emergence of
systems of personal-authoritarian rule, systems where the political struggles of powerful men
prevailed at the expense of institutional rules. Coups, plots, conspiracies, crisis of succession,
threats, purges, factionalism, corruption, patronage or clientilism, etc (Robert, Jackson and
Carls Rosberg, 1982b) took over the political scene and democracy was relegated to the
corner. To steel up their positions, these autocrats or ´big men` built up a strong fortification
around them with loyalists in the army, police and government at virtually all levels. And
about 90% of these loyalists are usually from their ethnic groups of origin because it is
believed that it is only among them that safety is best guaranteed. This syndrome of one
ethnic group taking all the ´national cake` means a complete marginalization of other groups
and usually result to permanent animosity and tension, and this, since the departure of the
29
colonial masters, had been one of the main causes of the numerous coups, post election
violence and civil wars that had been plaguing SS Africa. These ethnocentric and neopatrimonial tendencies are very unhealthy for any sustainable democratization and unless it is
stopped, democracy in SS Africa shall keep on swinging unabated on the balance.
2 : 5 International Actors involved in the Democratization of SS Africa
Several international players are involved in the process of democratization in SS Africa
most of whom originate from the west and a good number from the sub-region as well. For
the convenience of this study, l have decided to classify them under IGOs, INGOs and other
actors, and they have been arranged under chapters four, five and six respectively. Those that
are IGOs include; IMF, World Bank, UNO, AU, EU and Commonwealth of Nations. INGOs
on the other hand comprise HRW, AI and Mo lbrahim Foundation. While other actors
embody regional and neighbouring states, and super powers.. All these actors together with
only their democracy-oriented activities or policies in SS Africa constitute the core of this
research study.
Most of the afore-mentioned international players started intensifying their activities in SS
Africa in the late 1980s when the sub-region was hard-hit by an economic crisis and needed
urgent structural and political reforms. Most of them put forward as open agenda, the
implementation of democracy, good governance and the rule of law. They believe that the
consolidation of democracy and sound governance institutions is central to reducing poverty,
promoting sustainable economic growth and achieving social progress and economic
development in Africa. However, in the course of our study, we are also going to discover that
with the above pro-democracy motives not-with-standing, some of these actors equally have
some other agendas which are not openly made clear but could only be deduced after making
an in-depth analysis of their activities.
30
CHAPTER THREE
INTERNAL FORCES AS A CATALYST
4 : 4 The Role of Civil Society
.Pressures for political change in SS Africa have emanated from two quarters – from the
international arena as well as from the domestic arena (civil society). Civil society though an
idea which had been imported from the west, started taking prominence in SS Africa from the
late 1980s and early 1990s. It become the van-guard of the democratic efforts in SS Africa
where people from all works of life led by trade unionists, lawyers, students, doctors, and
working class massively took part in the mass demonstrations that resulted to the introduction
of multiparty politics and the fall of some notorious African dictators from power. Civil
society has several definitions, but in its simplest terms is a political space where people come
together voluntarily out of political activities to discuss current issues of society and other
aspects of social life (Scholte 2007). They are not political parties but can be allied to it, and
stand completely apart from the state. Civil Society exists whenever and wherever voluntary
association of any kind tries to deliberate and meet certain governing rules of the society. A
wide range of Civil Society groups exist and among them are; non-governmental
organizations, labour movements, social movements, Student groups, environmental groups,
cultural groups, consumer organizations, foundations, charities, policy institutions, trade
unions, women´s groups, religious groups, private volunteer organizations, etc. Civil society
include only groups that try to shape politics and the society, and exclude recreation clubs,
service NGOs that do not involve in any conscious attempt to shape policies, norms and
structures in society (Scholte, 2002a). All of these groups have different organizational setups,
different agendas and different lines of ideology, some democratic and some very
undemocratic. We have three kinds of civil society: the Conformist like business lobbies and
philanthropic foundations, Reformists such as trade unions and consumer groups, and
Transformists like environmentalists, radical feminists and religious revivalists. Most civil
society starts at the local and national levels, but with the exigencies that come along with
globalization and other natural factors, most of them as from the 1990s started to extend their
responsibilities into planetary scales and thus becoming global civil society.
Civil society is an arena for the expression of diverse interests, and its first and most basic
role is to limit and control the power of the state through means like monitoring the conduct
of elections, exposing corrupt practices of public officials and lobby for good governance
31
reforms. It provides a training ground for future political leaders, and in mediating and
helping to resolve conflict. Also help to inform the public about important issues through
debates and dissemination of information; it monitors human rights and strengthen the rule of
law; lobbying for the needs and concerns of their members; educating citizens about their
rights and responsibilities, as well as providing new forms of interest and solidarity that cut
across old forms of tribal, linguistic, religious, and other identity ties, etc. Civil society
operates best in a liberal democratic environment, but when they are squeezed to a corner by
dictators such like the situation in SS Africa, it become so hard for them to function. In SS
Africa, states machinery are highly centralized and often personalized, and the autocratic
governments have generally tried to establish supremacy over civil society. Also, the fact that
the region is plagued by so many odds including poverty, corruption, nepotism, parochialism,
opportunism, ethnicism, illiberalism, etc.(Diamond 1997, p18) justifies the need for a strong,
vibrant, resourceful and autonomous civil society. After all, despite all the huddles, SS Africa
since the early 1990s witnessed a massive upsurge in the proliferation of civil society
movements as calls for greater accountability and democratization rang high. Just as
democracy has been at its transitional stages same too as these civil society groups, whose
shear existence and survival have often depended on its success in the battle with the
autocratic systems.
As the politically and economically induced woes which were exacerbated by the IMF and
World Bank`s SAPs (Muna 2003) continued to plague the people of SS Africa, a few
courageous intellectuals started as a rallying force and within short intervals, mammoth but
disorganized crowds of marginalized groups of people from all works of life took to the
streets demanding good governance and change. It sparked off in the tiny Republic of Benin
in 1989, and by 1994, forty-one out of the forty-seven countries of SS Africa had been
affected and had undergone significant political reforms and/or regime change (Bratton and
Nicolas, 1997). It resulted to the convening of national conferences, a form of political
association, in more than half a dozen francophone states23. Their successes - though limited coupled with donor pressure forced African political leaders to create political openings - for
example, by releasing political prisoners and abandoning one-party constitutions thereby
improving the legal environment for free expression and association. It should be noted that
23
A national conference is an assembly of national elites, between several hundred and several
thousand strong, which includes representatives of all major segments of society and is often
chaired by a church leader. The conference meets to address a country's political crisis and
to attempt to formulate constitutional rules for political transition (Bratton, 1994, pp6)
32
between January 1990 and July 1992, their action had led to the replacement of thirteen
African Heads of State24. Their efforts in monitoring and advocating for free and fair elections
helped to enhance the overall quality and credibility of the democratization process. Anticorruption, accountability, human rights and other social norms25become part of the society.
Even in the face of continues pressure, intimidation, and arrest and physical danger, human
rights and other civic groups have courageously fought on with the struggle as has been the
case in Nigeria and Congo DR. In some countries, civil society have built up moral credibility
and trust among various political actors to the extent that they could be able to stabilize, or
even save democracy in times of crisis. A case in point as pointed out by Diamond (1997,
p.19) is in Central African Republic where Ligue Centrafricaine des droits de l´Homme
played a crucial mediating role during two army uprisings in1996. They supervised a
ceasefire and the subsequent peace accord that ended the conflict between the opposition and
government forces.
In collapsed and war-ravaged states civil society faces the most trying circumstances. For
instance, in Liberia during the civil war of the early 2000s, civil society operate amid chaos
and helped provide job training, counseling and supplying food and medicine to former
combatants. In Chad, the civil society Chad Non-Violence worked with other NGOs to teach
human rights principles, non violence and peaceful conflict resolutions to youths, women and
the military, all in a bid to promote democracy. Generally, civil society all over SS Africa
though plagued with the problems of lack of adequate funding, and pressure from the
dictatorial governments takes so much credit for the level of democratization achieved so far.
They have been doing a marvelous push through strikes and demonstrations and their efforts
have added to that of the international actors to limit the powers of the states, liberalizing
democratic institutions, increasing accountability and transparency in governance and
improving women´s rights and human rights. Despite these remarkable achievements, it is
widely believed that they too are getting entangled in the corruption web and are clearly
exhibiting all the instincts of prebendal politics and patrimonial accumulation (David Francis,
2006, pp57). Not-with-standing though their presence and achievements acted like the
impetus and catalyst to the international actors` effort at democratization.
24
25
Ibid.
Bratton, 1994.
33
5 : 3 Local Media
The media form part of a broad spectrum of branches covered by the civil society. A
diversity of media outlets and political views leads to stronger civil society, and, this have
been the brain behind the massive public pressure and rhetoric advocating for change in SS
Africa in the 1990s which resulted to the birth of multi-party politics. This period witnessed
an upsurge of media pluralism since private news papers experienced a massive increase
while by 2005 the air waves of many countries were filled with radio messages calling for a
more representative democracy. Commercial and non-state-owned radios like Africa No. 1 of
Gabon, Radio SYD of Gambia, Radio ELWA in Liberia and Radio Trans-world in Swaziland
(Nyamnjoh, 2005) were given way, signaling a break in state dominance and monopoly26.
National, state-owned, public service media system started yielding to commercial media
characterized by increasing concentration of ownership and control through takeovers,
mergers and globalization (Nyamnjoh, 2005). This pressure of the 1990s also forced some
governments to make the unthinkable concession of accepting the demands by international
broadcasters such as the BBC, RFI and Africa No.1, as well as other private investors to set
up FM transmitters and provide satellite television services within their territories 27, targeting
their citizens. Digital, flexible, global and quality broadcasting is now a reality thanks to
satellite hovering above the entire sub-region.
West Africa has experienced a boom in private, local and commercial radio stations with
over seventy-two in less than five years by 199628. Most of these radios – majority of which
are rural - are non-profit organizations of a public service character and most specializing in
music or sports to avoid interference and possibly closures by governments. South Africa,
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Namibia, Cameroon, Senegal, and Botswana are leading
examples (Nyamjoh on Bourgault, 1995). When some of them have news items on their
agendas, they are keenly monitored for any stuff critical of the government. When it did
occur, the journalists risk arrest and/or a complete closure of the stations. Same too apply to
Television and the print media. An example is the ban slammed on Equinox TV in Cameroon
following the 2008 strike on price hikes in fuel and food commodities. Print media too
witness a great upsurge. Their publications which hitherto have been censored and regarded
26
African media before and after independence right up to the late 1980s had been characterized by a rigid
state control where in some countries like the former Zaire of Mobutu Sese Seko, it was even nationalized.
Governments were very hostile to the propagation of ´unconfirmed news` or anything printed or broadcasted
without prior authorization from the state; and broadcasting which by now had been highly influenced by
western societies and models, was completely entrusted in the hands of politicians and civil servants.
27
Ibid. pp54)
28
Ibid. pp54
34
as subversive, gained the admiration of the public and entered into mainstream discourse.
Even within government-owned media, journalists and consumers have sought the expression
of alternative viewpoints as a counterweight to discredited official propaganda. For example,
in an interesting case of liberalization without democratization, Tanzania has seen the
introduction of almost half a dozen weekly news magazines in Swahili and English, all
bemoaning the government's slow march to multi-party elections in 1995 (Bratton, 1994,pp6).
The electronic media just as the mass media also experienced a dramatic expansion in all
its forms, including electronic mail and internet; making opportunities for communication
across national boundaries, and cross-fertilization of ideas to be easier than ever before.
However, since electronic information depend much on the availability of electricity; it
become in most cases an affair of the urban population who could have access to it. It
nevertheless made a positive impact in promoting democracy in Africa, by providing civil
society with greater leverage vis-a-vis the state and political elites. New communication
technologies notably fax machines, cellular telephones and photocopying machines have
strengthened civil society by empowering citizens to communicate independently of state
supervision and has helped to promote public political discourse. Brattons (1994) maintains
that authoritarian governments find it difficult in controlling these decentralized technologies
and in preventing the dissemination of international news, information, and political values
within their borders. Especially in volatile urban areas, African citizens obtain information
from satellite TV channels like CNN, RFI, and BBC, sources which they say they trust more
than government-owned media outlets.
African media unlike western media has evidently not been up to expectation in
promoting democracy especially in areas of election like voters education during campaigns
and in explaining voting processes to voters. These shortcomings maybe due to bias, lack of
objectivity or professionalism, and hate journalism (Nyamnjoh, 2005 pp 56). Some have been
fuelling fanatism or extremism instead of curbing them as per liberal democracy, some
serving as mouthpiece for divisive or destructive forces especially in exacerbating ethnic
tension and conflict like Radio Mille Collins in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide; while
some press will not hesitate to kill stories for bribes or sell entire print runs to corrupt people
anxious to cover their tracks, etc. Though these predicaments are a setback to
democratization, the local media has nevertheless been like an inspiring weapon through
which international bodies use to push ahead with their democratization agenda.
35
CHAPTER FOUR
INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ( IGOs )
IGOs generally have a membership compose of States which are brought together through
an intergovernmental agreement or by decision of an existing mother IGO for example the
UN. This membership and their competence in many cases are limited by geography,
objective, economic and culture depending on the purpose for which the organization is
created. Administratively, a typical IGO is divided into several organs comprising executive
councils, administrative body, court-like organ, parliamentary assembly and organ
representing interest groups, all of which are headed by a Secretary General as it is in the UN
or Managing Director as is the case with IMF. This system of administration in IGOs is the
bureaucratic model of government, and it takes decisions which can be decisive and global.
IGOs are created for specific purposes and usually the text creating them spell out these
functions and their limits. Some of these functions are diverse including collecting
information and monitoring trends (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - IPCC)),
delivering services and aid (UN High Commissioner for Refugees - UNHCR), forum for
intergovernmental bargaining (EU), settling disputes (World Trade Organization - WTO), etc.
(Margaret and Karen, 2010, p6). To facilitate things, the entire operational structure is set up
following a normative framework or codified system of rules or laws, principles and norms or
´soft laws`. With the passage of time most of these IGOs might become obsessed with their
roles and following exigencies associated with economic and socio-political reality on the
ground, they could be compelled to adjust and readjust their functions so as to suit the
prevailing situations. It is always in the course of these adjustments and readjustments that
some of them start violating the rules creating them and eventually becoming more of a
problem in themselves rather than the solutions for which they were created to offer. Clear
examples in this study are the IMF and World Bank.
3: 1 International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The IMF was formally created on December 27, 1945 by world leaders just after the Bretton
Woods meeting of July 1944 following the end of the WW ll. It has a current membership of
187 nations and with headquarters in Washington, USA. Articles of Agreement, the
document that put it into existence, initially set out six goals for the organization including;
36
1. Making resources available under adequate safeguards for balance-of-payments
adjustments,
2. Promotion of exchange rate stability,
3. Facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of world trade,
4. The promotion of international monetary cooperation,
5. Assisting in the establishment of multilateral systems of payment and
6. Elimination of foreign exchange restrictions.
To achieve these goals from the beginning, it was not clear on the type of strategies to
be used but from 1950s, the IMF derived some models which became known as
conditionality and technical assistance in giving out loans or carrying debt relief. In recent
years, these two methods have become the main methods in which the IMF use to
coordinate its lending process especially in SS Africa.
3 : 1 : 1 Policy of Conditionality and Technical Assistance
Conditionality is the attachment of strings or conditions to lending so as to compel
governments to adopt the required economic policies in a bid to guarantee maximum success
while technical assistance involves the training of officials of domestic governments on the
techniques of economic analysis so they could better understand how to implement the IMF
policy once it is recommended. All these are aimed at improving the balance-of-payment
position as well as promoting a better overall economic health. Top among these conditions
are the liberalization of trade and investment policies, decrease in government spending and
responsible economic reforms, stringent measures to fight inflation, privatization of state
enterprises, deregulation of financial and labour markets, greater openness to trade and
pursuit of export led growth, etc. The decision to attach conditions on loans came about as a
result of the fact that from the 1950s, newly independent Third World nations queued to join
the IMF, coming along with so many economic woes such as abject poverty, incomplete
marketized economies, rudimentary financial systems and balance-of-payment deficits. With
such situations, intervention was most needed to regulate and reconstruct these economies in
ways that could stabilize the countries` payment positions.
37
With an energetic and experience expertise who work relentlessly to develop new
strategies, the IMF lending conditions continued to increase as the years went by. The
original draft contained very simple conditions but with the passage of time the performance
criteria started to become more complex and increased steadily. In the 1970s, the number of
criteria needed to be qualified for a loan was six, in the 1980s, it became ten and in 1999, it
had reached twenty-five. The means with which the lMF use to implement these lending
conditions on member states is the Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs), dubbed the
Washington Consensus.
3:1:2
Structural Adjustment Programmes/Policies (SAPs)
Through SAPs, the IMF in collaboration with the World Bank (WB) has been able to
execute its activities in SS Africa especially with the application of its conditionality and
technical assistance policies. SAPs´ implementation in SS Africa started in early 1980s as
part of a grand design for all LDCs with balance-of-payment problems. It however paid great
emphasis on SS Africa because by this time the region according to WB report was the
poorest and has the lowest income in the world and at the same time, was facing stiff
economic crisis too. So the IMF in this regard was working mainly to stabilize the economic
situation so as to create an enabling environment for democracy to grow, in other words,
forming a direct link between development and good governance.
SAPs demand that SS African countries, irrespective of their level of development and
industrial base, should liberalize their trade regimes in order to expand production and
exports, and consequently promote their economic development (Muna, 2003). It was
inspired by the neoliberal model associated with the "Washington Consensus,” which gave
emphasis on the market as the main allocator of economic resources and a corresponding
decrease in the role of government. To IMF and WB leaders, state-owned and state-driven
economic model in Africa had created and sustained a kleptocratic state (Ngaire, 2006).
Though African leaders saw this as an infringement on their sovereignty, they had to swallow
the bitter pill or forfeit the loans. The initial procedures which bore the afore-mentioned
conditionality were completely formulated by the IMF with the assistance of the World Bank
for the debtor nations. By this programme, the first stand-by loan were handed to Zambia and
later Senegal. The story of Zambia was successful but that of Senegal generated massive
strike actions because of the harsh conditionality attached to it especially austerity measures,
38
cuts in government spending and privatization. The IMF considered these failures to be as a
result of not involving the people directly in the decision-making exercise and decided to
change tactics.
In 2002, the lMF and WB replaced SAPs with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
(PRSPs).The Fund beliefs that successful economic policy programs must be founded on
strong country ownership and participation. By PRSPs therefore, before a country is
considered for debt relief within the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative which
had been formed in 1996, she must submit papers, carrying details of her plans to promote
growth and reduce poverty through implementation of specific economic, social and
structural policies over a period of three years or longer. The papers should be formulated
basing on core principles such as country-driven, result-oriented, comprehensive, partnershiporiented, and based on a long-term perspective. PRSPs provide lending organizations
assurance that aid receiving countries will utilize aid to pursue development outcomes.
PRSPs was also intended to help aid recipient countries meet the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). Further attempts at dishing out loans still met with low progress.
In 1999, a new enhanced HIPC was launched by the IMF and this time on a more deeper,
broader and faster basis. To be considered for the initiative, countries must face an
unsustainable debt burden which cannot be managed with traditional means.
As of
September 2009, the HIPC program had identified twenty-nine SS African countries qualified
for the loans.
As a means to use loans and development aid to influence and promote good governance
and democracy in SS Africa, the IMF´s policies of conditionality and structural adjustment,
simply met with partial success especially in the 1980s. This was as a result of failure of
domestic policy and of the institutions that states helped to develop and sustain using the
reforms (Sahn, 1994 cited in Ngaire, 2006, pp.167). However, with regular and recent
modifications in conditionality, some progress started to come out especially in the late 1990s
and 2000s. The IMF´s approach to combating corruption emphasizes prevention, through
measures that strengthen governance. It encourages SS Africa countries to improve
accountability by enhancing transparency in policies in line with internationally
recognized standards and codes.
39
3 : 2 World Bank (WB)
The WB too just like the IMF was established at the Breton Woods Conference of New
Hampshire, USA in 1944. Today, it is the world´s largest source of development assistance
comprising of 191 members29. Its mission is to fight poverty and improve the living standards
of people in the developing world. It is a development bank, providing loans, policy advice,
technical assistance and knowledge sharing services to low and middle-income countries to
reduce poverty. The bank promotes growth to create jobs and to empower poor people to take
advantage of these opportunities. It uses its financial resources, trained staff, and extensive
knowledge base to help each LDC onto a path of stable, sustainable, and equitable growth in
the fight against poverty (World Bank, 2005). The WB is divided into two lending and
development institutions; International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
and the International Development Association (IDA). The IBRD focuses on middle income
and credit-worthy poor countries while the IDA focuses on the lowest income and least credit
worthy.
The promotion of good governance and democracy has been one of the main focuses of
the WB in SS Africa just like the IMF. Both of them have been working hand-in-hand in
virtually all levels of the SAPs with the only remarkable difference in their activities being
that WB loans are provided on long-term basis to fund particular reconstruction and
development projects in particular countries, while those of IMF are on short-term purposes
for countries with balance-of-payment problems. As time went on, both institutions have
been overhauling and reconstructing their policies in response to exigencies that results from
political, economic and socio-cultural transformation brought about by globalization and
other events. Conditionalities and technical assistance jointly mapped out by both financial
institutions, remain the guiding principles that decides the WB structural adjustment loans
disbursement in SS Africa. Its primary goals in effect have been to encourage SS African
states to work to achieve the intermediate economic objectives of macroeconomic balance,
resource reallocation and improved competitiveness, and the more fundamental objectives of
economic policy such as enhancing economic growth and development, improving the
environment and quality of life, and alleviating poverty (Al lshrat 1996, pp.114).
The WB from the onset relied so much on the SAPs reform agenda which was drawn
solely by its staff and those of IMF, with minimal participation from the governments
29
http://www.worldbank.org/
40
concerned. As events proved, SAPs was handicapped by a lack of broad-base support by the
different stakeholders in the debtor countries, making it to be replaced in 1996 by the HIPC
initiative. The sustenance of structural reforms and its implementation under the HIPC
initiative have been a very cumbersome task and have been going in stages and often at very
slow pace. Financial and economic monitoring systems have to be set in place in almost all
the countries that were qualified for these standby agreements to make sure the
conditionalities were not violated. A country by country analysis shows great variations in the
approach and responds to this initiative.
In Burundi, a vigorous adjustment programme have been pursued and there was stiff
resistance when in an attempt to encourage a more equitable redistribution of wealth, the
government through the SAPs agenda attempts to reduce policy rents and rent-seeking
behaviors. Here also, the process of supervision and monitoring by WB got so complex
especially as IDA unleashed an enormous package of conditionalities, in certain cases
amounting to about ninety-four (Af Ishrat 1996, pp21). In Nigeria, the government took steps
to devalue the currency, Naira, reformed exchange rate, liberalized trade and abolished
commodity boards. The programme was soon abandoned because of unstable governments.
In Kenya, it started in 1985 but turned out to be patchy and the commitment, intermittent.
Ghana´s experience as from 1983 was widely successful. She carried extensive reforms,
focusing on stabilization and liberalization which resulted in large, visible and widely shared
benefits. In Senegal and Tanzania, it was a mixture of resolute action, partial adjustments,
opposition and stagnation. In Cote d´lvoire too, it was a mix reaction and adjustments were
partial and focused most on health and education30.
The WB´s SAPs have been relatively successful as a greater number of SS African
countries that were involved in the standby agreements experienced remarkable growth in
their per capita GDP. Despite the success, the results could equally be challenged because in
most occasions, lack of WB expertise in certain areas covered by conditionalities like public
enterprise, civil service reform, social action programme, requires managing a sizable number
of consultants whose advice is sometimes contradictory31. The reforms were nevertheless
remarkable especially the one on public sector, and has been a great encouragement to good
governance and the promotion of the rule of law and democracy (Muna, 2003 pp.338).
30
31
Jbid. Pp.4-5
Ibid. pp.22
41
3 : 3 United Nations Organization (UNO)
The UNO as an IGO was founded on October 24th, 1945 after the WWll with the
commitment of maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations
among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights and
freedoms. Bind by a Charter32, the organization is comprised of 193 member states who
express their views through the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and
Social Council and a host of other bodies, agencies and committees. It is the main IGO that
coordinates most global issues on earth especially on conflict prevention, peacekeeping,
peace building and humanitarian assistance. Its activities also encompasses a broad range of
fundamental issues in our society today including disaster relief, sustainable development,
gender equality, good governance, promotion of democracy, environment and refugee
protection, fight against terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation of dangerous weapons,
human rights protection, expanding food production, good health and economic and social
development. With headquarters in Washington DC, USA, the organization is coordinated by
a general secretariat headed by a Secretary General
Democracy as a universally recognized ideal has been one of the core values of the UN
since its inception. These values are embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and further developed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
which enshrines a host of political rights and civil liberties that underpin meaningful
democracies. UN activities in support of democracy and good governance, especially on
areas like electoral assistance, are carried out through the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), United
Nations Volunteers (UNV), UN Women, United Nations Office for Project Services, and the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), among others. Such activities
are inseparable from the UN’s work in promoting human rights, development, and peace and
security. Apart from that, the UN has been sensitizing people all over the world on the
importance of democracy through conferences, meetings and summits since the 1990s. The
UN Millennium Declaration of September 2000 which officially put in place the MDGs33 is
32
The UN Charter can be accessed online at http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml
33
For more information on the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs, access the following links online;
http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.pdf and http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
42
one of such conferences where world leaders pledged to spare no effort to promote
democracy and strengthen the rule of law, as well as respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms worldwide and more especially in the LDCs including SS Africa.
UN commitment with SS Africa started in the late 1950s and 1960s when it oversaw the
supervision of a massive decolonization process that finally brought the complete
independence of the entire continent of Africa. This newly autonomous Africa faced massive
challenges, including extreme poverty, illnesses, desertification, malnutrition, regional
conflicts and corruption. These challenges posed great threat to good governance and
democracy, all of which undermined transparency, security, participation and fundamental
freedoms. So the UN has been very active battling the challenges by providing the much
needed services in the areas of elections, conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace
building amongst others.
During the 1990s, the UN DPA through its Electoral Assistance Division observed
landmark elections and popular consultations in SS Africa, with notable examples being the
one in South Africa in 1994 which officially marked the end of apartheid, and Mozambique
in 1994, finally bringing to an end the long-drawn civil war. More recently, the UN has
provided technical and logistical assistance in milestone elections in several SS African
countries including Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Congo DR, helping them build
credible and sustainable national electoral systems. UN role in supervising plebiscites and
referenda so as to amicably resolve contested issues is equally laudable. A recent case in
point is the January 2011 plebiscite in South Sudan which resulted to its independence from
Sudan, and the 2010 referendum in Kenya, promulgating into law a unifying constitution,
thereby bringing to an end a long-drawn electoral dispute which had taken away the lives of
about one thousand people in 2008. The UNV and UNDP have also been working hard to
provide electoral support (Harvey 2010) in Cote d´lvoire, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, Kenya and
Congo DR.
The UN has also been doing much in the area of conflict arbitration and peace building.
The peaceful settlement of the dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria over oil-rich Bakassi
Peninsular in 2002 and Chad and Libya over the Aouzou Strip in 1987 remain commendable.
Significant strides in securing peace after prolonged violent conflict have been made in Sierra
Leone, Somalia and Liberia. In Guinea Bissau chronic political instability compelled the UN
to locate an integrated peace building office in 1999, while in Guinea, a peaceful return to
43
constitutional order after the military coup of 2008 have been encouraged in cooperation with
the AU. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration have also been top in UN´s agenda
especially in war-torn countries conducted under the auspices of its peacekeeping missions.
UN peacekeeping operations started in Africa as far back as 1960 and since then Africa have
had the lion´s share in overall UN missions. Currently there are six peacekeeping missions
deployed all over the sub-region, including the UN missions in South Sudan, Liberia, Cote
d´lvoire, Congo DR, Abyei, South Sudan and the joint AU-UN mission of Darfur.
3:4
African Union (AU)
The AU is a union consisting of 54 African states established on 9 July 2002 with its
secretariat, the African Union Commission, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It replaces the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) which had earlier been formed on 25th of May 1963
with the purpose of completing the decolonization of Africa diplomatically, mediation in
boundary conflicts and regional and civil wars, and research in economics and
communication. Today, the newly born AU seeks the promotion of unity and solidarity
among African states, spur socio-economic development of the continent, encourage peace,
security and international cooperation and above all, promotion of democratic institutions,
good governance and human rights. The most important decisions of the AU are made by
the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and
government of its member states. Between these summit conferences of head of governments,
policy formulation are in the hands of a council of ministers, composed of foreign ministers of
member states who prepares the drafts for them to deliberate upon.
The decision to transform the OAU into the AU was reached because of the desire to have a
more integrated continent capable of taking its rightful role in the global political economy, in
line with the European Union model, having amongst others, a central bank, a court of justice
and an all-African parliament. The idea started in 1999 and by 2002, the AU was formed. It
should be noted that this transformation is mainly observed in the change of name and
philosophy, while the institutions, governing charters, agreements and declarations remain in
tack. Attempts by the AU to promote democracy in SS Africa consequently started a bit
earlier under the defunct OAU, so the AU shall concurrently be used with the OAU to discuss
this influence on democratization.
44
The underpinning documents on the promotion of democracy in SS Africa by the OAU/AU
includes the1990 African Charter for Popular Participation in Development, the 2000 Lome
Declaration on the Framework for an OAU Response to the Unconstitutional Changes of
Governments, the 2001 Lusaka Agreement on the New Partnership on Africa´s Development,
articles three and four of the Constitutive Act, the document creating the AU in 2002, the
2002 Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, the 2003 Protocol
relating to the establishment of the Peace And Security Council of the AU, and the African
Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance34 drafted in 2006. Almost all these
landmark agreements calls mainly for the respect for democratic principles, human rights, the
rule of law and good governance; promotion of gender equality; promotion of social justice to
ensure balanced and sustainable economic development; respect for the sanctity of human
life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassinations, acts of terrorism and
subversive activities; and condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of
governments amongst others.
The AU´s democracy and good governance programme have practically witnessed much
work done with the aid or in partnership with the Electoral Institute for Sustainable
Democracy in Africa35. Election observation, monitoring and technical support have been
made in Angola in 2008, Burundi in 2010, Zambia in 2011, Madagascar in 2007 and 2010,
Namimbia in 2009, Mozambique 2009, Tanzania in 2010, etc. A team to monitor events
in South Africa and advocate international economic sanctions against that country had been
set up in the 1980s and early 90s as long as apartheid remained officially in place. A decision
in 1993 to create a mechanism to engage in peacemaking and peacekeeping in the continent
spurred the union in 1998 to sponsor an international panel headed by former Botswanan
president Ketumile Masire to investigate the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994; its
report was released in 2000. In 2004 the AU’s Pan-African Parliament was inaugurated, and
the organization agreed to create a peacekeeping force, the African Standby Force of about
15,000 soldiers. According to initial plans, the force by 2010 was to comprise a standby
brigade of 3.000 to 5.000 soldiers located in each of the five regions of Africa (north, south,
east, west and central), and incorporate a police and civilian expert capacity. Today, despite
34
Check the following site for details about the Charter;
http://au.int/en/sites/default/files/AFRICAN_CHARTER_ON_DEMOCRACY_ELECTIONS_AND_GOVERNANCE.pdf
On its ratification status, go to http://www.eisa.org.za/EISA/aucharter.htm
35
Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) strives for excellence in the promotion of
credible elections, participatory democracy, human rights culture, and the strengthening of governance
institutions for the consolidation of democracy in Africa.
45
immense support from the G8 members36, it has not been able to take its full capacity because
of financial and logistic lapses.
Some significant peacekeeping strides have been made nevertheless. In 2003, violent
conflict between Hutu and Tutsi factions in Burundi led to intervention by an AU force with
troops from South Africa, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. In Sudan, attacks by armed,
government-backed militias against residents of Sudan's western Darfur province inspired the
deployment of an AU observer mission in June 2004. By 2007, this mission was integrated to
a UN force which came to take over, turning the mission into a hybrid operation. In Somalia,
the protracted instability and lawlessness that had been reigning involving the Transitional
Federal Government and the different rebel groups and more recently the Al Shabaab, caused
the AU to send a mission in January 2007 to help stabilize the security situation, including a
take over from Ethiopian Forces who had earlier been there fighting for the government.
3:5
European Union (EU)
The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 European countries
formed in 2002 after the signing of the Treaty of EU at Maastricht, The Netherlands, though
build-up had started as far back as 1958. It is aimed at providing peace, stability, prosperity
and a high standard of living to European citizens by means of progressively building a single
Europe-wide market in which people, goods, services, and capital move among Member
States as freely as within one country37. To realize this ambition, it has to develop this single
market through a standardized system of laws which apply in each member state, create a
single currency, the euro which today has 17 members, enact legislations in justice and home
affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional
development. It has further been facilitated with the formation of the Schengen Area (which
includes EU and non-EU states) where passport controls have been abolished. The EU
operates
through
a
system
of supranational independent
institutions
( European
Commission, European Council, and Council of the EU, Court of Justice of the EU, European
Central
Bank, European
Parliament
and
the
European
court
of
Auditors),
and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states.
36
Group of eight most industrialized countries of the world. They include; Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Russia, Britain and USA.
37
http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
46
EU´s relations with SS Africa as well as the rest of the world is coordinated by its Common
Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) department basing on its normative power policy which
strife to promote both the EU's values and those of the international community as a whole,
including the furtherance of international co-operation, respect for human rights, democracy,
and the rule of law. Manners(2002) specifies these values and norms of the EU as including –
peace, democracy, freedom, the rule of law, equality and sustainable development. Paul James
(2000) further argues that EU´ foreign policy exist alongside those of its member states and is
not driven by military strength but backed-up with a formidable economic clout. The Treaty
of the EU38 and subsequent treaties including the latest, Treaty of Lisbon of 2009, declares
that the EU´s action on the international scene shall be guided by a set of principles which are
central to its own existence- and the first of these is ´democracy`. Article two of the Treaty of
EU makes it more explicit that the EU itself is "founded on the values of respect for human
dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including
the rights of persons belonging to minorities... in a society in which pluralism, nondiscrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail``39.
These and others like the abolition of death penalty are embodied in the EU Charter of
Fundamental Rights. Paul James (2011) finally noted that linking human rights with
democracy goes hand in hand, and the EU as a liberal democracy had taken that as a priority.
EU policies towards SS Africa particularly focuses on elections, peacekeeping, trade and
development, environmental protection and more especially the challenge of getting Africa
back on the track of sustainable development and of meeting the MDGs by 2015. These have
been the subject of a number of agreements concluded between EU and Africa, Caribbean and
Pacific Countries (ACP) group including the Lome Conventions of 1976, 81, 85 and 89 which
were later in 2000 replaced by the Cotonou Agreements. Following these agreements, the EU
commits it support for improvement in education, water supply, sanitation and energy, as well
as the improvement of transport and health infrastructures and the provision of essential
health services. Economically, it pledges to stimulate rapid and broad-based economic growth
by supporting macroeconomic stability and assisting in the creation of integrated regional
markets. Environmentally, activities include the management of environmental diversity, the
improvement of sustainable land management to halt desertification, the conservation of
38
Check out for full version of treaty; http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2006:321E:0001:0331:EN:PDF
39
For full version of the Treaty of EU, go to;
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2008:115:0001:01:EN:HTML).
47
biodiversity, limitation of the effects of climate change and support for the sound
management of chemicals.
In an effort to foster peace and security, the EU employs a wide range of actions, ranging
from the support for African peace operations to a comprehensive approach to conflict
prevention and addressing the root causes of violent conflict. These actions also target
cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, as well as support for regional and national strategies for disarmament,
demobilization, reintegration and reinsertion of ex-combatants – including child soldiers –
and stabilization of post-conflict situations. These operations mostly involve both civilians
and military. Notably, in June 2003 EU deployed peacekeepers made up of contingents from
the EU Battlegroups40 to Congo DR where they made remarkable success in bringing stability
and help bolstering UN presence in the country. An EU Security Sector Reform Mission later
set up there in 2005 gave out advice and assistance in the security sector while doing much to
modernize the united national army. In Somalia, in a bid to maintaining security, the EU in
November, 2008 deployed a naval force to the region to help contain piracy in international
waters, and in May, 2010, the EU Somalia Training Mission was formed to strengthen the
Somalia security forces and to contribute to the stabilization of Somalia. Another security
sector reform mission had been launched in Guinea Bissau in 2008 due to the persistence
military coups and instability. In Kinshasa, Congo DR, an EU Police Mission set up in April
2005, advised, monitored and assisted in the building and training of an integrated police unit
right up to 2007. Three thousand troops were deployed in March 2009 under the EU Military
Bridging Operation in Chad and the Central African Republic as a joint EU-UN force to
protect refugee camps.41
Due to her respect for human rights and democracy, the EU have been developing local
capacity and encouraging decentralized systems of governments. It also encourages African
countries to sign and implement the main international instruments of crime prevention.
Finally much has been done in the area of election especially in observation and monitoring.
Since 1994 right up to date EU observers has served in so many SS African countries, some
40
An EU Battlegroup is a military unit adhering to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the EU.
Often based on contributions from a coalition of member states, each of the eighteen Battlegroups consists of
a battalion-sized force (1,500 troops) reinforced with combat support elements. The groups rotate actively, so that
two are ready for deployment at all times. The forces are under the direct control of a unanimous European
Council. The force reached full operational capacity on 1 January 2007.
41
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Security_and_Defence_Policy_missions_of_the_European_Union
48
of the latest missions being Senegal in 2012, Zambia, Nigeria, Niger, Sudan, Uganda, Chad
and Congo DR in 2011, and Cote d´lvoire, Tanzania, Guinea, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sudan and
Togo in 201042.
3:6
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary IGO of 54 independent countries spanning
six continents and home to a population of over two billion. All of these countries apart from
Mozambique and Rwanda were formerly part of the British Empire, out of which it
developed43. It has its roots as far back as 1870 but was finally reconstituted in 1949 when
Commonwealth Prime Ministers met and adopted what has become known as the ´London
Declaration` where it was agreed all member countries though with diverse social, political
and economic backgrounds, would ´´be freely and equally associated`` The member states
cooperate within a framework of common values and goals as outlined in the Singapore
Declaration of 1971 during the first Commonwealth heads of government meeting. These
values include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance and the rule of
law; individual liberty; egalitarianism; free trade; multilateralism; world peace; no to racism;
no to colonialism; eradication of poverty, ignorance and diseases; and economic inequality.
Activities of the Commonwealth are carried out through the permanent Commonwealth
Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General, and biennial meetings between Commonwealth
Heads of Government. The symbol of their free association is the Head of the
Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial position currently held by Queen Elizabeth II of
Britain.
The principles and values embodied in the Singapore Declaration were later reaffirmed in
the Harare Declaration of 1991 as the ultimate goals of the Commonwealth. These values are
protected by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), a rotating group of nine
Foreign Ministers, which assesses the nature of any infringement and recommends measures
for collective action from member countries. It has the authority to suspend or even
recommends to Heads of Government that a member country be expelled. Commonwealth
countries work together in a spirit of co-operation, partnership and understanding, this
42
European Commission Election Observations ; http://www.eueom.eu/
43
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/191086/191247/the_commonwealth/
49
openness and flexibility are integral to the Commonwealth´s effectiveness. Emphasis on
equality has helped it play leading roles in decolonization, combating racism and advancing
sustainable development in poor countries
The Commonwealth's current priority in SS Africa aims on the promotion of democracy,
development, and prevention of conflict. This is done by upholding the ´Harare Principles` or
standards of democracy, good governance and human rights. The Commonwealth provides
independent analysis on the credibility of key national and local elections by providing
training and technical assistance as well as sending small election-observation teams of ten to
fifteen eminent persons to member countries upon request. The Commonwealth usually sends
such teams to several elections per year. The teams meet with election management bodies,
political parties and civil society in the countries concerned before observing polling and
counting stations on election days. Each Commonwealth Observer Group is preceded by an
advance group that considers the background to the election and monitors voter registration
and election management. After the election, the Observer Group issues a report commenting
on the credibility of the process and the election result. Recent Commonwealth election
observation missions include: Mozambique (2009), Ghana (2008), Swaziland (2008), Sierra
Leone (2007), Nigeria (2007), Lesotho (2007), Kenya (2007) and Tanzania (2005).44
Through the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, the Commonwealth
operates a number of small technical assistance programs in a number of SS African countries
aimed at improving democracy, governance and human rights. To do so, the Commonwealth
Secretariat provides expert advice, models legislation, runs workshops and regularly sends
experts for training purposes. Also, many potential conflicts in SS Africa has been diffused
and democratic practices encouraged by the Commonwealth Secretary-General through his
use of quiet diplomacy or his ´Good Office`45. The prestige and respect accorded his Good
Offices have made it an effective means to address potentially volatile situations quickly and
quietly, particularly when undertaken in a low-key and confidential manner. This is more so
because the Secretary-General is often regarded as an unbiased person whose only goal is to
see peaceful and equitable end to problems.
44
http://www.international.gc.ca/commonwealth/democracy-democratie.aspx?view=d
45
http://www.international.gc.ca/commonwealth/democracy-democratie.aspx?view=d
50
CHAPTER FIVE
INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (INGO)
Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are private voluntary organizations whose
members are individuals or associations that come together to achieve a common purpose. It
is normally used to refer to legally created organizations that do not form part of, and is
independent of any government and are not conventionally for profit. It usually applies to
only organizations that pursue some wider social aims that have political repercussions, but
that are not overtly political organizations such as political parties. They advocate particular
burning issues in our societies today like human rights, peace, environmental protection and
humanitarian assistance. By looking at the type of issues they embrace, we can say they take
different forms which could be charity oriented, service, and participatory or empowerment
oriented. Their levels of involvement and cooperation could be local or community based,
city wide, national or international. At national levels, they are regarded mostly as interest or
pressure groups, and when they link with counterparts in other countries through transnational
networks or federations, they become international, hence the use of the term INGOs
(Margaret and Karen, 2010, pp.10). Nevertheless, the advent of globalization has given birth
to another form of INGOs which is profit-oriented known as Multinational Corporations
(MNCs). Based in one particular country, they conduct for-profit large-scale business
transactions and operate across the borders of three or more states. Margaret and Karen(2010)
points out that the Yearbook of IO has identified six thousands five hundred NGOs that have
attained international dimensions, but for the purpose of this study, we are going to locate just
a few that operates in SS Africa.
4 : 1 Human Rights Watch (HRW)
HRW is an INGO that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. It is one of the
world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human
rights. Found in 1978, with headquarters in New York City and offices worldwide it has as
duty to stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, uphold political freedom,
protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and bring offenders to justice. It
investigates and exposes human rights violations and holds abusers accountable, challenges
governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international
51
human rights law, and finally enlisting the public and the international community to support
the cause of human rights for all46.
The underpinning document that acts like a moral guideline or code for HRW in the
pursuant of their activities is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, enacted by the UN
General Assembly on the 10th of December 1948. It contains thirty articles of fundamental
human rights ranging from civil to political, economic, social and cultural issues that all
human beings should enjoy and which must be protected. Coupled to this UN declaration,
other minor international human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols, and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, together form the International Bill of Human Rights.
These have over time been widely accepted as the fundamental norms of human rights that
everyone should respect and protect. Some of these issues frequently raised by HRW in its
reports include social and gender discrimination, torture, military use of children, political
corruption, abuses in criminal justice systems, the legalization of abortion, etc. Respect for
human rights requires the establishment of the rule of law at the national and international
levels, which has been the focus of the work of HRW. Her rigorous, objective investigations
and strategies, targeted advocacy builds intense pressure for action and have given voice to
the oppressed and hold the oppressors accountable for their crimes. For years, HRW have
been working tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and
has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
HRW has been very vigorous in its research and reporting in SS Africa, and has a regional
head office in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is virtually very visible in almost all the
countries of the sub-region especially as democracy is still at its infancy and election-related
violence and conflicts and wars are common place. Child labour, basic freedom and slavery,
capital punishment, gender discrimination, racism, torture, rape, arbitrary detention, etc are a
few of some of these human rights violations that are conspicuous in this region. And for
some time now HRW has been able to bring into limelight, stunning revelations of human
rights violations, with some contemporary examples involving Angola where the government
used excessive force to crackdown demonstrators and the media after the 2011 presidential
elections which the opposition accused the government of rigging. In Cote d´lvoire, it tries to
expose the gravity of human rights abuse after the controversial presidential elections of 2010
46
http://www.hrw.org/about
52
that pitted the then incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo to Alassane Quattera. Some of these
violations included extra judicial killings on ethnic lines, rape, torture, and the inability of
current president Quattera to deliver an impartial justice after the conflict. In Kenya, it made
outstanding success in its research on alleged crimes committed during Kenya´s post-election
violence in 2007 and 2008. Its findings have been very vital to the International Criminal
Court in their charge against six Kenyan politicians for crimes against humanity committed
during this period. In Nigeria, it just brought out a latest report on child Lead poisoning
epidemic, the worst in modern history that is engulfing northern Nigeria47. Also, other issues
like the Boko Haram terror campaign is still under study. In Sudan, evidence of government´s
persistent harassing, arresting, detaining, and torturing of perceived opponents; censoring of
media; and banning of political parties abound. In Equatorial Guinea, it documents
government´s regular engagements in torture and arbitrary detention of journalists, civil
society groups and the political opposition members. In Burundi, failure in stabilization has
caused continues reciprocal killings between the ruling government soldiers and the former
rebel forces. Impunity for these crimes had remained one of the main obstacles to peace,
HRW concludes. In Ethiopia, it exposed government plans to forcibly relocate approximately
70,000 indigenous people from the western Gambella region to new villages that lack
adequate food, farmland, healthcare, and educational facilities48.The list remain inexhaustible
as long as HRW do not relent their energy in their work in defending the oppressed in SS
Africa.
4 : 2 Amnesty International (AI)
AI is a global movement of more than three million supporters, members and activists in
more than one hundred and fifty countries and territories who, just like HRW and other
human rights groups, campaign to end grave human rights abuses. It was founded in 1961 in
London and ever since have maintained as a vision seeing every human being enjoying all the
rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human
rights standards. To fulfill this vision, the organization has been working relentlessly in
conducting research and generating action to prevent and end degrading abuses of human
rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated. They do this by
mobilizing the public to put pressure on governments, armed political groups, companies and
intergovernmental bodies via: publication and promotion of research findings, public
47
48
http://www.hrw.org/africa/nigeria
Ibid.
53
demonstrations, vigils, letter-writing campaigns, human rights education, awareness-raising
concerts, direct lobbying, targeted appeals, email petitions and other online actions,
partnerships with local campaigning groups, community activities, and co-operation with
student groups. Some particular aims of their campaign is to fight for the abolish of death
penalty, end extra judicial executions and "disappearances", ensure prison conditions meet
international human rights standards, ensure prompt and fair trial for all political prisoners,
ensure free education to all children worldwide, decriminalize abortion, fight impunity from
systems of justice, end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, free all prisoners of
conscience, promote economic, social and cultural rights for marginalized communities,
protect human rights defenders, promote religious tolerance, fight for the rights of
women, stop torture and ill-treatment, stop unlawful killings in armed conflict, uphold the
rights of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, and protect human dignity49, and lots more.
They assemble information for their reports by interviewing victims and officials, observing
trials, working with local human rights activists, and monitoring the media.
AI is the earliest right group to start advocacy and since the 1960s, she has posed as a
model for other NGOs. She won the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its campaign against torture
and another from the UN in 1978. Its ability to influence human rights norms, Anne-Marie
Clark (2001, pp11) argues, ´´lies on its loyalty to the moral principles of human rights; its
position as a disinterested and autonomous ´third party` in the international system; and its
expertise and large amounts of specific information in the service of general assertion about
the need for norms``. So in this regard, they are independent of any government, political
ideology, economic interest or religion, and they derive their funds mainly through
membership and public donations.
The importance of AI in the democratization process in SS Africa cannot be over
emphasized. As a matter of fact, they have an active presence in virtually all countries in the
sub-region, conducting different activities including campaigns, petitions, advocacy, activism
and human rights education. Through these activities, so many revelations on human rights
violations are regularly made public in its annual report papers. 2011 report was so eventful
witnessing so many violations including; violence against women and the recruitment and use
of children by the Chadian armed forces and armed groups from among the displaced and
refugees in Eastern Chad; arbitrary arrest, ill-treated and detention without charge in Darfur
by the Sudanese authorities; rape of dozens out of one thousands two hundred Congolese
49
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International
54
migrant workers expelled by Angolan security forces from Angola between September and
December 2011; Migrants, most of whom came from other West African countries, were
arbitrarily detained in Mauritania to prevent them from trying to travel to Europe; Hundreds
of thousands of displaced in Somalia denied access to emergency humanitarian assistance due
to severe insecurity by Al-Shabaab and other armed Islamist groups who also target
humanitarian aid workers; The conflict in the eastern Congo DR resulted in numerous
violations. In Walikale, North Kivu, more than 300 people were raped in just four days by
members of armed groups during a series of attacks against villages. Neither the Congolese
armed forces nor the UN peace-keepers intervened, even though they were stationed close
by50. As a matter of fact, extrajudicial executions, torture and other ill-treatment, and
excessive use of force, sometimes resulting in unlawful killings by security forces, were
among the human rights violations documented by AI. This has been the case in Nigeria
following government response to arm attacks in the Niger Delta. Same too was the case in
Burundi and South Africa where several incidences of ill-treatment by police were reported.
In Mozambique and Guinea, security forces use live ammunition against demonstrators while
deaths in custody resulting from torture and ill-treatment had been the order of the day in
several countries. Post-election violence has been so persistent, the consequences being gross
human rights violations like was the case in Cote d´lvoire. In Sudan, Ethiopia, Guinea,
Rwanda and Burundi, massive government clamp down on freedom of expression had been
systematic.
Given these massive violations in this sub-region, it remain unclear whether AI, using its
slogan of united against injustice could ever be able to see its vision of a people free from
human rights violations even though united with other rights groups, she had attained great
strides in her endeavours.
4 : 3 Mo Ibrahim Foundation
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation supports good governance and great leadership in Africa.
The Foundation was established in 2006 by Mo Ibrahim, a British-Sudanese mobile phone
billionaire. Dr Mo Ibrahim is an expert in mobile communications and the founder of mobile
communication giant Celtel, which operates mobile networks in sixteen African countries
with over twenty-five million subscribers51. Dr. Ibrahim administrates the Mo Ibrahim
50
51
http://www.amnesty.org/en/annual-report/2011/africa
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8309396.stm
55
Foundation, an initiative aimed at recognizing achievement in African leadership and
stimulating debate on good governance across SS Africa and the world. It has set up an annual
award to honour former African head of states that support good governance by stepping
down when their constitutional mandates end, run democratic elections and safeguard their
national exchequers from corruption. It comprises a cash prize of five million dollars payable
over a ten years period and an annual income of 200.000 dollars for live. The former president
can also apply for another 200,000 dollars per year for ten years towards his charitable
activities and espoused good causes52. His is therefore a great stride which recognizes
excellence in African leadership and provides a practical way in which leaders can build
positive legacies on the continent when they have left national office.
In this regard, the Foundation set up an Index which produces a yearly governance
report, ranking African countries on how well they practice good governance by looking at
safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity, and
human development, and books the government leaders on a scale that the good are placed at
the top while the really bad at the bottom. Using this methodology, Joaquim Chissano, the
former president of Mozambique, was declared the first winner in 2007. He had led his
country out of post-independence civil war through lengthy negotiations with the Renamo
rebel group, offering its former soldiers half the spaces in the country’s army. He stepped
down as president in 2004, having served ten years, without seeking the third term allowed
by the constitution. That same 2007, an honorary prize was also awarded to Nelson Mandela,
South Africa’s much-loved first black president, who stepped down after just one term in
office. The year 2008 was won by Botswana’s former president Festus Mogae. Mogae ruled
from 1998 to 2008 and carried much reform on poverty and unemployment, education health
and the economy, finally stepping down after his normal two terms as per the constitution.
The year 2009 and 2010, the prize went unawarded, ostensibly because, according to the then
chairman of the prize award committee, former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, there
was a lack of viable contenders. 2011 had been won by the former president of Cape Verde,
Pedro Pires who ruled from 2001 to 2011, overseeing a spate of developmental projects
including the construction of three international airports, ports, and hundreds of kilometres of
roads, and making Cape Verde a hub of stable democracy and peaceful elections.
To compliment this annual prize award, the Foundation is also committed to providing the
tools for African civil society to hold their governments to account and to play an
52
http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/en/section/about-mo-ibrahim-foundation
56
instrumental role in the improvement of governance across the continent. In this vein, the
foundation has been organizing annual rotating forums in several SS African countries
including Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Mauritius to hold discussions,
lectures and seminars with civil society on the importance of good leadership and governance.
Also, capacity building programmes have been launched. They include a range of
scholarships to support aspiring SS African leaders at a number of distinguish institutions.
And a selective leadership fellowship programme designed to identity and prepares the next
generation of outstanding African leaders by providing them with mentoring opportunities in
key multilateral institutions53.
53
http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/en/section/about-mo-ibrahim-foundation
57
CHAPTER SIX
OTHER ACTORS
5 : 1 Super Powers
Super power involvement in the political economy of SS Africa has also made a big
impact on it democratization process. Since the early 1990s, the major powers who made
remarkable presence in the sub-region were France, Britain, US and China. Military and
economic activities dominated their agendas. Intervention to protect their nationals and
bringing stability and democracy has often been the major rhetoric during armed conflicts
though the support of one belligerent over others could also mean preserving an ally who will
protect their economic and political interest. French presence has been more controversial.
Her direct military involvement in the disputed presidential elections of Cote d´ivoire in 2004
and 2011 and Togo in 2005; accusations about her involvement in the events leading up to the
Rwandan massacre of 1994; the 2002 scandal over payments that French energy giant was
making to African officials; the 1994 devaluation of the Francs CFA a currency used by
fourteen African former French colonies; and her role in controversial power transfers in the
sub-region, call into question claims of French neutrality in the continent´s politics. Having
had a large array of colonies in Africa and presently with about 240.000 of its nationals living
there, France relies heavily on this region for its oil and metal supply. To protect this and
other interests, they have three main military bases in Africa, located at Djibouti, Dakar in
Senegal and Libreville in Gabon. They have engaged in active combat in Chad to protect
President Idriss Derby, maintains some three hundred troops in Bangui, Central African
Republic as part of Operation Boali, charged with restructuring the local armed forces, and
deployed approximately 3,000 troops into Cote d´lvoire -under a UN mandate- to patrol the
buffer zone between the rebel-controlled northern regions and the government-controlled
south.
The globalization of terrorism, rise of China´s influence in Africa and the need to protect
her other political and economic interest is the major concern of the US in SS Africa. Apart
from the counterterrorism force in Djibouti, the United States has secured agreements with ten
Southern and Western African nations to provide them with logistical support. The U.S.
military has launched a new joint command, U.S.-Africa Command (AFRICOM) to oversee
58
operations on the continent. The command began operations in October 2007 out of the
offices of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and is seeking a permanent
home in Africa.
The British though a former colonial master to many countries of this sub-region have been
playing increasingly a weaker role. One of her only major military involvements was in the
civil war in Sierra Leone in 1991where the impact of her intervention was quickly felt in the
outcome of the war. An increasing number of her military personnel are joining short-term
missions to neighbouring Uganda where they are helping to prepare the nation's army. Her
giving of aid to SS African countries and especially Rwanda is now being traded for poverty
reduction and sound financial management; good governance and respect for human rights, all
in a bid to promote democracy.
China´s role has been more driven by her appetite for natural resources, trade opportunities
and political alliances. She is moving from the sidelines to the center stage in Africa
especially in the domain of infrastructure, mineral sector and telecommunications. She
overtook the US as Africa's biggest trade partner in 2009 and her trade with Africa was worth
$10 billion in 2000 and is projected to exceed $110 billion in 2011. China's interests in Africa
are by no means limited to oil. China already has access to many international markets for a
range of industrial and consumer products, but its rapid industrial growth makes it very keen
to develop and expand into new ones. It currently sees African countries both as sources of
raw materials (oil among them) and as potential markets for its own products.
5 : 2 Regional and Neighbouring States
The activities of regional and neighbouring states have been so crucial in determining the
extent of democratization in SS Africa. Strong security and a viable economic environment
are some of the main determining factors that act like prerequisites for any democratic culture
to grow. Contemporary SS Africa is replete with several security complexes or zones notably;
West Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, Horn of Africa, East and Central Africa and the
Great lake region. These different zones, its states and peoples are locked into a geographical
proximity to one another, thereby making it a strong motivation for the establishment of
regional organizations and collective security mechanism. Other factors such as sociocultural, historical, racial, linguistic, ethnic and ideological perceptions also induced patterns
59
of mutual security interdependence or vulnerability. For some of these reasons, regional
groupings started to be formed as early as the 1970s. Some of these groupings include; the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) put in force by the revised
Cotonou Treaty of 1993; Southern African Development Community (SADC) ratified at
Windhoek, Namibia in 1992, Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS),
1983; West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), 1994; Economic and
Monetary Union of Central Africa (CEMAC) created in 1999, etc. The earliest of these
regional groupings were mostly aimed at sub-regional integration, monetary union, promotion
of trade and establishing a common market and encouraging stability among people. But with
the advent of globalization and consequently the proliferation of violence across borders, most
of the old regional organizations revised the text creating them while the new organizations
structured their constitutions to embody mutual security.
Civil wars and security threats, some of the main hindrances to democratization in SS
Africa, is in most cases ethnically, economically and politically motivated, and the sheer
nature of these causes often make the violence interlocking in nature and with spill-over effect
into regional magnitude. David Francis (2006) argues that since the mutual vulnerability
created by this regional interdependence have led to the view that communities in SS Africa
are locked into a regional security complex, makes response and intervention in civil strife or
security threats to rely on a regional approach for containment, management and resolution.
This boils down to Buzan´s ´´fire next door`` phenomenon as described by David Francis.
Ethnically, in 1998, when the Tutsi-led government of Rwanda found that her fellow Tutsis in
Congo DR were threatened, she had to invade the country. Uganda, her longtime ally was
economically motivated to followed suit because of the massive mineral wealth in the Congo.
This triggered the most deadly war in African history. It involved nine countries (Congo DR,
Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Chad, Libya, Sudan and Namibia) and about twenty
rebel groups. About 5.4 million people lost their lives though a majority died from diseases
and starvation. The war partially ended in 2003 with a peace accord, thereby portraying
Congo DR as a sphere of political, economic and strategic interest in that Central
African/Great Lake region.
In Liberia, a politically and economically motivated civil war broke out in 1989 and
eventually spread into neighbouring Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d´lvoire. It led to the
deployment by ECOWAS of a regional intergovernmental peacekeeping force, the Cease-Fire
Monitoring Group, ECOMOG to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d´lvoire. The war in Sudan
60
too reached a regional dimension in 2002 when the government of Sudan had to invite the
Ugandan army to come into Southern Sudan in pursuit of the Lord´s Resistance Army rebels
from Northern Uganda. Sierra Leone civil war of 1991 quickly turned into a proxy one
because of its mineral reserves. Then Liberia´s, President Charles Taylor´s backed rebel
faction, Revolutionary United Front took control of the diamond-rich territories of the south
while Libya and Burkina Faso came in too indirectly through the various rebel groups to
influence the situation on the ground. The intervention of the Nigerian-led West African
force, ECOMOG could finally take the support of a British and a UN force to suffice in
stabilizing the situation in 2002. Other regional interventions in civil conflicts around SS
Africa includes; a South Africa-led SADC peacekeeping operation in Lesotho and Congo DR
in 1998; ECOMOG intervention in the eleven month civil conflict in Guinea Bissau between
the President and his army chief of staff in 1998; ECOWAS mission in Cote d´ivoire in 2003;
AU peacekeeping force presently in Somalia; Senegal and Guinea military involvement in the
conflict in Guinea Bissau 1998; and the current invasion of Somalia by Ethiopian and Kenyan
troops in pursuit of the Al-Shabaab rebel group in Somalia.
Apart from military intervention to stabilize states in civil turmoil, regional groupings aim
at economic integration and free trade have done much too in putting the sub-region on the
rail especially after the economic crisis and currency devaluation of the late 1980s and early
90s. Regionalization brings unity among the states thereby creating a conducive atmosphere
for democracy to excel.
61
CHAPTER SEVEN
6 : 1 General Analysis and Discussion of Problem
Chapter four, five and six of this thesis has given a brief and concise elaboration of
international bodies operating in SS Africa as far as democracy is concerned, as well as how,
when and where these activities have been taking place. So to draw conclusions whether what
they have been doing is beneficial in promoting democracy or not, I analyzed and evaluated
all the data collected, and then compared their compatibility with some basic universals tenets
of democracy and good governance such as freedom of speech, press and expression,
equality, human rights54, and the presence of a vibrant civil society,etc. From this I came to
the assessment that the vibrant multiparty politics bequeathed to the people of SS Africa by
their colonial masters in the early 1960s hit a stall before the late 1980s. The indigenous elites
who took over the mantle of leadership gradually were overcome by greed and egotism and
turned totalitarian and become entrenched in their positions. As a result, SS Africa started
experiencing the personalization of power, the denial of fundamental human rights,
widespread corruption, and the prevalence of unelected governments that is accountable to no
one. Violence, conflicts and civil wars become a daily occurrence.
International actors in their bid to restore the democratic process have been working at
varying degrees. While some do more to promote it, others do lesser and others even execute
activities which remain contradictory. The IMF and World Bank have been the front runners
for the democratization process and despite their enormous leverage due to their resources and
knowledge; they found it extremely difficult to facilitate successful economic growth,
development, and policy reform in line with conditionality in SS Africa. Their rhetorically
economic liberalization discourse carries mainly ingredients that could polish the smooth
progress of development rather than democracy (Bamidele (ed.), 1999), or in another way,
making democracy a sine quo non for development. This is manifested in the institutions´
SAPs, destabilization policies and free market reforms. Though the inclusion of
conditionalities reflects the seeming convergence of democratization and development, the
fact remains clear that democracy has been subordinated to development55. Therefore, it could
be assumed that these lending institutions are not interested in the creation of pluralistic
politics in SS Africa but rather they are concerned first and foremost with the realization of
54
55
http://democracy-handbook.org/wiki/index.php?title=Front_Page
Ibid.
62
the goals of economic liberalism56. In order to overcome domestic obstacles, the
implementation of SAPs requires authoritarian politics. Such moves increase the
militarization of African societies while deepening divisions within the societies. Thus the
development discourse requires the de-democratization of SS African politics57. Ake (1993)
adds that the ´´external development agencies have felt constrained to give market reform
priority over democracy, and has to keep on accepting and protecting any regime that follow
it``. Significantly, the state has become an extension of the aid agencies rather than of the
electorates. Citing the Zambian example, he concludes that ´´external interests defeat
democracy, resulting in the exercising of power without responsibility``.
More still, economic reforms such as privatization, deregulation and austerity measures as
demanded by SAPs instead aggravates the already existing poverty, conflicts and weak
institutions (Muna 2003 pp.51), and deprived governments of the resources needed to build
strong national institutions58. Worst of all, the divergent objectives between Africans and the
financial institutions makes matters more complicated (Bamidele(ed)(1999). Differences in
objectives mean that these donor institutions have different measures and standards for
success59. One of the main reasons for this divergent or clash of values as cited by Nyamnjoh
(2005) is that western-styled liberal democracy reflects the western experiences and attempts
to ignore African socio-cultural practices and reality which would have blend or enrich
democracy towards more relevance. And so, Bamidele concludes that African states lack the
western attributes of a ´´legitimate`` democracy.
So many question signs equally hang over the type of activities conducted in SS Africa by
the superpowers, regional bodies and neighbouring states. It is very clear that external interest
has been playing a large and sometimes decisive role both in suppressing and in sustaining
conflicts in SS Africa. Muna (2003) acknowledges that competition for oil, diamonds, timber,
and other natural resources characterized almost all conflicts. Interest for minerals in Congo
DR forced Uganda and Rwanda to spark a war which was later to involve nine countries and
several rebel groups, and proving to be the most devastating in the history of Africa. In the
wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Guinea, etc the interest story remain the same.
Concluding on this, David, citing from Collier (2000) say ´´the true cause of much civil wars
56
Ibid.
Ibid.Pp9.
58
Some of these measures could result to massive unemployment and a fall in wages, and therefore cuts in
individual spending and government funding, rise in commodity prices, and a general drop in production.
59
Ibid.
57
63
is not the loud discourse of grievances but the silent force of greed``. Interests put ahead
means democracy and good governance is relegated. In another vein, the scramble for oil,
minerals and land has underpinned super power involvement in SS Africa too. The greatest
proportion of oil in this sub-region is mined by these powers and in several areas conflicts
abound among them. US giants, ExxoMobil, Chevron and ESSO have invested hugely while
French Total and Elf and British BP and Chinese National Offshore Oil Company are also
very active in the race60. Mega land grabs in recent years for agriculture and other use is
highly gaining grounds now too and China and India are the leading powers in that
direction61. Majority of these vast lands are in Eastern, Central and the Horn of Africa. Again,
most military involvements in SS Africa by these powers are aimed at protecting these
investments and other interests rather than protecting the meager democracy gained so far.
Though the US claims its military installations and its drills with several African countries are
aimed at fighting terrorism and for national security, it is also connected with the protection of
its oil business62. Super powers could even protect dictators who move in line with their
interest and work behind the scene to evict those who challenge their activities. A good
example is the US support for Mobuto of former Zaire. It is thus very clear that the rhetorical
stability and good governance slogans that is heralded by super powers during most
involvements in SS Africa have been compromised in several cases for personal interest.
Despite the above criticisms, efforts at democratizing SS Africa have been so crucial and
vigorous by almost all the other actors on the ground including the IMF and World Bank
though.
6 : 2 General Theoretical Review
Conceptualization as far as the topic of this thesis is concerned, seem so wide and
diversified. Firstly, within democracy, there is no single theory to explain the dynamics
involved since several definitions of the meaning too abound. Secondly, most of these
definitions focus on democracy as an ideal coined by the Greeks and later modified over the
years to become the western-styled liberal democracy of today. It did not take into
consideration the type of democracy practiced in SS Africa where democratic pluralism exists
alongside persistent authoritarian practices, consequently opening new corridors for
theorizing. These complexities have been at the center of the decades-long debate by scholars
60
People´s Daily Online http://english.people.com.cn/200508/05/eng20050805_200508.html
http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/are-foreign-investors-colonising-africa-0021551
62
Ibid.
61
64
on how to draw conceptual conclusions. However for convenient, l divided the theories in
different categories, each capable of explaining the different aspects, ideas and situations
involved. As a result, two main approaches were realized, one as a universal concept and the
other as part of an African model as reflected by the situation on the ground in SS Africa.
As a universal concept, democracy embraces a wide variety of issues in the society but we
just managed to probe into some that have been generating so much controversy and debate
on how to interpret. Top among the issues is the role of citizens in a democracy - who is a free
citizen and what role does he or she has that can build or fragment a society. Another issue is
who comprise a majority and who is a minority especially when it comes to elections. Also
what is meant by power and where and how it operates and could be shared – For example,
what x sees as abuse of power is aimed at emancipating y. Finally, to what extent could
individual interest help to advance democracy? All these issues plus others like the meaning
of freedom, equality and participation has been at the centre of debates about the
conceptualization of democracy in recent times.
Democracy as an African model and within the context of this thesis looks more
complicated too. Firstly, the advancement of democracy in SS Africa has been bogged down
because of authoritarian rule, which needed to be explained and secondly the involvement of
IOs and actors in the scene equally called for some clarity vis-à-vis democracy, not leaving
out the presence of other forces on the scene like the civil society which shapes the turn of
events and acts like a detergent. Totalitarian per se is influenced and/or explained for being
persistent on the African continent using the classical realist theory which justifies sovereign
states as rational actors operating in an anarchic set-up filled with interest and greed. On this,
the discoursed focused on four main areas including the love of material wealth and power as
some of the causes, and ethnic conflict as a characteristic and civil society as a purifying
agent. On the other side are the international actors and IOs who advocates for good
governance and liberal reforms. Their involvement in SS Africa is justified by social
constructivism theory which claims to explain the causes and consequences of the creation
and functioning of IO, and neo-institutionalism which equally defends the behavior of IOs as
guided by a logic of appropriateness as it competes in a broader environment with other
forces. Both theories finally intimate that the functioning of IOs must be shaped by norms,
rules and values. As they justify why IOs function so too is the liberal theory which explain
what and how they operate, acknowledging liberty, equal rights and a free market economy as
the underpinning prerequisites. It calls for the liberalization of NGOs and small scale
65
independent production and the business class to play a leading role in democratization, and
in a final conclusion, argued that market reforms will liberate the enterprising potentials of the
business groups and encourage them to opt for more democratic modes of government.
6 : 3 Challenges and Prospects
Numerous challenges faces SS Africa today, some of which includes; extreme poverty,
regional conflicts, massive unemployment, human right abuse, waste and mismanagement of
resources, widespread corruption and unaccountability, lack of good governance, slumps,
social unrest, lack of a strong civil society, killer diseases like AIDS and Tuberculosis,
desertification and drought, etc. These and more impedes the growth of democracy and have
helped to alienate the people, squandered opportunities for growth, undermined development
plans, scared off investors, reproduce Africa´s vulnerability and marginal role in the global
economy (Bamidele (ed) 2009). As well, the concentration of resources on selected urban
locations, the inability to diversify export or promote industrialization, massive expenditures
on the military, coups and counter-coups, political intolerance, and violence, privatization of
state resources, misplaced priorities, dependence on foreign tastes, aid, and advice, and total
disrespect for indigenous cultures, values and traditions by the new elites63 have only
deepened Africa´s frustration. The numerical and diversified nature of these challenges makes
them perplexing and complex to handle especially from the external front or better still by the
international actors. Solutions must start with the education and orientation of the mentalities
of the people towards the importance of good governance and democracy. Jeanne Elone
contends that good governance creates an environment of sustainable development which in
turn reduces poverty the root cause of conflicts, hence mitigates or halts conflicts.
On a similar vein, Muna Ndulo (2003) recommends that the future of democracy in Africa
depends on the development of political systems that give people a sense of ownership of the
political process. The transition from authoritarianism to greater participation in political
decision making requires determined long-term efforts and a huge investment in the
development of institutions. This transition cannot succeed unless the economic conditions in
African countries improve and develop to a level where they are able to sustain the
institutions necessary for good governance. SAPs and the world trading system must give
63
Ibid. p67
66
greater priority to social and economic development if the right climate for the development
of democracy in Africa is to be created.
The future foundation of democracy in SS Africa should be built on; the development of
viable constitutions that set up practical institutions within which the conduct of the business
of governance and an environment where peace and development could flourish should be
fostered64. A good constitution affects the lives of all citizens and therefore ought to address
the concerns of all citizens, regardless of their ethnicity, color or gender. Such must have to
go in accordance with the history and socio-cultural context of the country involved, spelling
out clearly the terms of offices especially for the heads of state. These arrangements will
ensure that the exercise of governmental authority is conducted in a practical, responsible, and
legally regulated way, to the satisfaction of civil society and society at large. Attempts to
replicate western systems in any African society could therefore be a journey in futility.
The encouragement and development of a viable civil society will provide the checks
and balances that assist in the regulation of governance. In Africa, years of one-party systems
of governance, military regimes, and poverty have hindered the development of powerful
civic organizations that could act as countervailing forces to governments. Therefore it is
most needed if there should be a way forward. Also, power should be distributed between the
center and the regional levels and the rules of operation must be clearly enshrined in the
national constitution. This will curb the influence of dictatorship and hinder the progress of
the woes that accompany it.
The need for a free and vibrant press is very vital too. As Muna (2003) stresses, only a
free press can provide citizens with a range of information and opinions on the actions of the
government. Within an informed society, citizens can choose their representatives in the most
legitimate manner. State officials too are forced to respond to the desires of the public as well.
When a free press exposes wrong doings, it encourages accountable behavior in the public
service and discourages corruption. A free flow of accurate information promotes competitive
market economy and consequently a vibrant economy, which is a prerequisite for any strong
democracy.
A sound democratic SS Africa cannot prevail without a complete distribution of rights
between women and men. This should exist in all legal, political and social setups of the
64
Ibid. Pp.32
67
states since only this can guarantee human freedom and democratic life; and must be well
documented in the national constitution.
Accepting the existence of multipartyism in any democratic set up means there should not
be any preferential treatment by the government when funding the parties especially the
opposition. Years of deliberate government neglect has made the opposition in SS Africa to
lack the resources to operate effectively, thereby giving undue advantage to the party in power
since it has access to state resources and institutions to push its political agenda. This destroys
democracy as competition is discouraged.
.Experience shows that the military had been the biggest threat to the development of
democratic governance in SS Africa especially in West Africa with some notable examples
being Nigeria, Gambia and Sierra Leone. Though the presence of the military is very
imperative in any democratic society, their role must have to be accessed and defined within
the national constitution and it must have to be disengaged from politics.
Finally SS Africa needs sound economic policies especially in free trade so as to boost
her economy. The economy needs to be transformed into an industrial one before it could
meet up with the high competition involved in the global market. Jobs are a necessity in order
to raise the standards of living of the people and curb the massive brain drain to the west. Like
for instance, statistics from UNESCO shows that there are more African medical doctors
working in western countries than there are in Africa, and that as many as 30,000 Africans
holding PhD degrees are living outside the continent (Muna 2003). Thus, this only
discourages the growth of a sound civil service and economy and consequently, democracy.
68
Conclusion
From the overall analysis, we found that a wide variety of policies have been conducted
in SS Africa by external actors all in an attempt to build a strong democratic society. The
activities vary from economic to political and to social, and took many forms. Apart from
direct military intervention which could change a government by force, the other methods
such as SAPs, peacekeeping, peace building, monitoring cease fires, election supervision,
implementation of the rule of law, human rights promotion, etc. is just like mounting pressure
on the dictators to implement the rule of democracy, which in itself lack enforcement powers.
This gives an open advantage to these guys in high offices to be more steadfast, and with their
inordinate ambitions would, as Englund (2002a) puts it, ´´keep on manipulating their colours,
like chameleons, for personal survival``. And so the multipartyism projected as the solution to
Africa´s woes has been rather confined to competition among these political elites to the
exclusion of the dissatisfied masses (Ake, 2000).
The process of democratization in SS Africa however has been so hard to come by. Even
though a majority of the actors concerned carried out vigorous and great strides in the
democratization process - though not without lapses - especially in election monitoring,
peacekeeping, peace building and human rights promotion, some showed much contradictions
and failure while others showed personal interest. The IMF and World Bank in their bid to
structurally adjust the economies in line with the liberal market assumptions, failed to
recognize the difference in socio-cultural set-up between SS Africa and the west. This led to
massive failure and even created uncertainty in the minds of these financial power houses,
thus justifying their frequent change of tactics. Nyamnjoh (2005) intimate that ´´the reforms
had to repress popular opinion and rely on authoritarian regimes for implementation, making
it hard to be seen as contributing to the advancement of democracy``. The negative economic,
social and political effects caused by these adjustment policies are believed to have been
responsible for the popular appeals for political reforms65 in some African countries. Their
mixing up of democracy and development makes the situation more compounded to
comprehend. Though these two are compatible, development goes more with economic
liberalism and a liberalized economy does not guarantee the presence of an ideal democratic
culture. Although with all these set-backs, the influence of the IMF and World Bank in the
promotion of democracy was nevertheless so important.
65
Nyamnjoh on Nkandawire and Olukoshi, 1995; Abrahamsen, 2000.
69
The superpowers in collaboration with some regional groupings and individual states
however did much in promoting democracy as well. Their roles in conflict mediation, conflict
stabilization and peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance, freezing or seizing of the
assets of African embezzlers stored in western countries, economic sanctions on lawless
countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe, arms embargo during conflicts, and their indictment of
those guilty of war crimes in SS Africa all show their interest and willingness to build a
democratic SS Africa. But on the other hand, their open show of interest especially in
minerals such as oil and in strategic regions has been one of the main reasons for the
suspicion for double standards and neo-colonialism. To further attest this fact, their open
support and/or direct combat operations in certain conflicts to protect dictators especially as
frequently manifested by the French shows how important their interest and ideologies
equally were. This idea of putting interest first in polities is eating deep even at the
international stage. A case in point is the situation in the UN Security Council where countries
with veto powers have of late been using their veto rights to pose a threat to democracy,
relegating human rights and good governance for interest. A clear example is the open support
accorded the anti-democratic government of Al Bashir of Syrian by Russia in the wake of the
Arab spring pro-democracy demonstrations. Putting interest first in SS Africa by super
powers means neutralizing their early pro-democracy works.
Although the progress of democracy in SS Africa since the 1990s is undeniable, much of
Africa’s democratic transitions remain incomplete and pluralistic policies exist alongside
persistent authoritarian practices despite the efforts of external bodies. The suffocation of the
civil society, massive human rights abuses, corruption, political irresponsibility and conflicts,
etc currently still taking place means the transition cannot succeed unless long-term efforts
and a huge investment in the development of institutions are launched. Africans publicly
claim to be committed to democratic governance, and the New Partnership for Africa's
Development had stated clearly that the foundation of the program is the expansion of the
frontiers of democracy and the deepening of the culture of human rights. The future of
democracy in SS Africa therefore depends on the development of political systems that give
people a sense of ownership of the political process. With a pseudo-democracy still the
dominant system in most of the societies, the big question now is does the SS Africans failed
democracy or has democracy failed SS Africans? This remains a food for thought for future
researchers to come out with solutions.
70
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