Democracy in Africa: Success Stories That Defied the Odds
The human development index (HDI) measures average human achievement in terms of whether the population enjoys a long and healthy life, education, and decent standard of living. On the African continent, the pattern of military coups and peaceful transitions correlates with the HDI. See Figure 6.16. Generally, countries that have experienced fewer coups in northern and southern Africa have a higher HDI. Mauritius, an island country west of Madagascar, is the only country that falls into the highest HDI category.
It is not surprising that the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa continue to face challenges as they attempt to create successful states within the boundaries that were imposed on them. Establishing a legitimate government that meets the needs of a diverse population is difficult for most countries, and Africa's population did not have the opportunity to follow a nation-state model due to colonization.
Self-interest and tribalism frequently win and lead to voter fraud, mismanagement, corruption, coups, and civil unrest. However, several countries, such as Botswana, Ghana, and Namibia, have successfully increased transparency in their governing processes to foster democracy.
Read this article to learn more about the efforts of Mauritius and other countries to address the challenges of post-colonialism.
When I first said I would write a book about the history of democracy in Africa, quite a few people responded with a joke. That will be one of the world's shortest books, up there with the compendium of great English cooking, they would say.
But there was a lot to discuss: Africa's past reveals more fragments of democracy than you would think. And its present has a number of important things to teach the world about the conditions under which democracy can be built.
The poor quality of elections in many sub-Saharan African countries, combined with the media's tendency to focus on controversy, means that Africa is often depicted as a bastion of authoritarianism. But it has some of the most remarkable and important stories of democratic struggle.
Countries such as Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, Mauritius, Senegal, and South Africa have not only become beacons of political rights and civil liberties but have done so against the greatest of obstacles. These experiences teach us important lessons about where democracy can work and why.
Pre-Conditions for Strong Democracy
Political scientists like to discuss the conditions necessary for countries to build a strong and stable democracy. These lists are fiercely fought over, but most researchers would agree that a number of factors are probably important.
A cohesive national identity is likely to make it easier to maintain national unity, while wealth and economic success have been found to promote political stability. A strong national infrastructure, underpinned by respect for the rule of law, means that the government is likely to be effective without being abusive. A vibrant middle class and powerful civil society are usually seen as important to promote accountability and responsive government.
What is remarkable about the democratization of African states is that most did not enjoy one of these "pre-conditions."
Except for South Africa, all of Africa's democracies entered multiparty politics with low GDP per capita and high levels of unemployment. This was compounded by weak and underdeveloped states designed – both in the colonial era and during the authoritarian rule of the 1980s – to exploit resources rather than empower citizens. In states like Ghana, this was compounded by a history of military rule, which heightened the risk of further coups.
Almost all of these states also featured fragile and fragmented civil societies despite the strength of religious organizations. At the same time, in the early 1990s, the middle class was small. More often than not, it was also economically dependent on the government. Thus, it was poorly placed to fight against corruption or democratic backsliding.
Challenges
These were not the only challenges that African states faced. With the exception of Botswana, they are all diverse multi-ethnic societies in which the question of national identity has been problematic. In Ghana and Mauritius for instance, ethnic identities have historically played a role in structuring political networks. This increased the tension around elections.
Worse still, under colonial rule and during apartheid, white regimes sought to entrench racial divisions and hostilities in Namibia and South Africa, creating a particularly difficult environment.
Against this backdrop, all of these states might have been expected to collapse into some form of authoritarian regime by now. Given this context, their success should be celebrated and studied for what it tells us about how democracy can be built even in the most challenging of contexts.
Bucking the Trend
It is striking that, except for Benin and possibly Senegal, these democracies have grown stronger during a period in which the world is supposed to be backsliding on democracy.
While Europe is convulsed by Brexit and the rise of right-wing populists, and Donald Trump is doing his best to undermine America's reputation for political checks and balances, Africa's most democratic states have proved remarkably resilient.
Ghana has experienced numerous transfers of power and, in 2016, the first-ever defeat of a sitting president. According to Freedom House, Namibia has consolidated its position as a "free" political system with a robust respect for civil liberties.
South Africa suffered politically and economically during Jacob Zuma's presidency but now has the chance to bounce back after the governing African National Congress (ANC) voted to pursue reform under President Cyril Ramaphosa.
For their part, Botswana and Mauritius – the continent's oldest democracies – continue to combine respect for political rights with prudent economic policies. Praising Africa's democratic success stories does not, of course, mean that we should overlook its failures. A number of countries have taken steps backward in recent years, including Tanzania and Uganda. Authoritarian leaders also remain entrenched in Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea, and many more. However, it is important to recognize that there is much more to Africa than authoritarianism.
Explaining Success
Without the conventional building blocks of democracy, we need to look elsewhere to explain these success stories. Some might be tempted to think that the role of the global community has been critical in keeping governments on the straight and narrow. However, in reality, democracy is built from within, as the fact that aid-dependent countries such as Uganda and Rwanda have remained firmly authoritarian shows only too well.
Therefore, we should give greater credit to the politicians and people of Africa's democratic states. African presidents are often lambasted for being corrupt and self-serving. But in a number of countries, they have shown considerable restraint, establishing institutions capable of checking their power.
In Ghana, cohesive relationships among the political elite have underpinned a growing consensus on the value of democracy. In South Africa, inclusive leadership has played a critical role in overcoming racial divisions and building trust in the new post-apartheid political system since 1994. In Namibia, successive presidents have refused to use the electoral dominance of the governing party to remove the opposition.
African citizens' role also deserves greater recognition. Their willingness to take to the streets forced democratic openings in the late 1980s. The same has been true in recent years, with mass action challenging authoritarian regimes in Burkina Faso and Sudan.
Despite economic challenges and democratic difficulties, high public support for democracy in Africa means that leaders understand the costs of backsliding. At a time when people are questioning the value of democracy in many Western states, many African populations who have lived under one-party, one-man, or military rule are prepared to fight to prevent their return. This should serve both as an important lesson and a source of inspiration.
Source: Nic Cheeseman, https://theconversation.com/democracy-in-africa-success-stories-that-have-defied-the-odds-120601
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.