How Can Democracy be Strengthened in African Countries?
Posted Jan 21, 2008 in the DemocracyGovernance category.
WE WANT YOUR OPINION!
Debates surrounding global issues are too often dominated by elites in government, the media and academia. The issue of democracy in Africa is no exception. Usually, the opinions and attitudes of citizens outside official bastions of power are disturbingly absent from discourse on the subject. The Center for African Affairs and Global Peace (CAAGLOP) aims to elicit your opinions and those of others in order to foster an open, lively debate among Africans on how democracy can be promoted and strengthened throughout the African continent. Information about you, as well as your answers to the questions below will be included in a series of profiles of people from various African countries. However, you are free to participate anonymously. The information you include in your profile and those of others will be posted on CAAGLOP’s Africa Policy Analyst Viewpoint Forum Page (at our Web Site, www.caaglop.org ). Your participation in this project is very important to us, and helps CAAGLOP foster a citizen-based dialogue on how to make democracy a tool for sustainable development for all Africans, especially the rural and urban poor.
Background:
I. Defining Democracy
If the building of a bridge does not enrich the consciousness of those working on it, then don’t build the bridge, and let the citizens continue to swim across the river or use a ferry. The bridge must not be pitch-forked or foisted upon the social landscape by a dues ex machine, but, on the contrary, must be the product of the citizens’ brains and muscles… The citizen must appropriate the bridge. Then, and only then, is everything possible. – Frantz Fanon, in Damnes de la Terre (Wretched of the Earth)
What he (Jefferson) perceived to be the mortal danger to the republic was that the Constitution had given all power to the citizens, without giving them the opportunity of being republicans and of acting as citizens.
– Hannah Arendt, in On Revolution
This project on the state of democracy in Africa takes as its premise Anyang Nyong’o’s belief that “at the center of the failure of African states to chart viable paths for development is the issue of lack of accountability, hence of democracy as well .” We don’t want to lead your answers too much, but we do hope that your answers will be oriented toward ideas that explore how democracy can better be made to work for the majority of Africans. Though we will not reject arguments in favor of the “stable autocrat”, we urge you to think outside of the box with us!
Any discussion involving democratization in Africa must proceed with a definition of democracy. We encourage you to offer your own ideas on what it means for a country to be “democratic”, but the following conditions are offered as a starting point:
Meaningful and extensive competition among individuals and organized groups (especially political parties) for all effective positions of government power, at regular intervals and excluding the use of force; a highly inclusive level of political participation in the selection of leaders and policies, at least through regular and fair elections, such that no major (adult) social group is excluded; and a level of civil and political liberties- freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom to form and join organizations- sufficient to ensure the integrity of political competition and participation.
These conditions are sufficient if our conception of democracy is restricted to the realm of free, open campaigns and elections. Additionally, as you answer the questions, try to keep in mind ideas on how citizens, especially in poor rural and urban areas, can be made regular participants in decision making, as opposed to just elections. Keep in mind the quotes from Frantz Fanon and Hannah Arendt, above.
II. Current Situation
Analysis of political situations in specific African countries is better left to you. You know the situation in your home country better than we do. However, we will summarize some of the important developments of the past year: – In April 2007, Nigeria, Africa’s most-populous country, elected Umaru Yar’Adua President in an election marred by widespread irregularities, according to most local and foreign observers. – That same month, Mali continued what appeared to observers to be its consolidation of democracy, as Amadou Toumani Toure was re-elected for another five-year term. Toure surprised many in the early 1990s when, after seizing power in a military coup, handed over power to civilian authorities. Toure was elected President in 2002 in another peaceful transition of power. – Mali is one of several African countries where, according to Freedom House, the political systems are now “free.” Other countries on the list are Senegal, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Ghana and Benin. In Senegal, President Abdoulaye Wade was reelected President for a second term in February 2007 with 56% of the first round vote. – During 2007, the Democratic Republic of Congo saw continued escalation of violence in the eastern territory of North Kivu, culminating in ferocious battles between government troops and rebels in December. The developments are a blow to the hopes raised after the country’s national elections in 2006. Over 370,000 people have been displaced as a result of the violence. – In Sudan, negotiations late in the year between the Khartoum government and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to revive the country’s national unity government, was overshadowed by the genocide in Darfur. The Darfur genocide has resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 people and displaced over 2 million. Currently, only 7,500 UNAMID soldiers of a planned force of 20,000 are in Darfur. – Kenya is in the throes of political crisis, as opposition leader Raila Odinga seems poised to contest the legitimacy of President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election by a 2% margin on December 27. Most tallies during the ballot counting placed Mr. Odinga ahead of the President. 600 Kenyans have been killed in violence around the country following the election, and it has been revealed that the military has used “lethal force” against opposition protesters. Mr. Odinga’s party has a 99-43 edge in parliamentary seats over the ruling Party of National Unity.
Your Profile
To the best of your ability, offer your opinions regarding the issues addressed in at least two or three of the questions below. Remember, we are not looking for “expert” opinions. If you would like, you may conduct some research to back your opinions. However, it is not necessary.
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Home City/Town:
Home Country:
Current place of residence:
Current Occupation:
Questions- You are free to answer all of them. Please try to answer at least 2 to 3 of them.
1. Article 4, paragraph g of the Constitutive Act of the African Union establishes the principle of “non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another”. However, the following paragraph (h) declares “the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.” At what point, in your opinion, is it appropriate for Member States to act against a government believed to be undemocratic, especially one that has persecuted its citizens? Why might some people oppose such intervention? Consider the current situations in Kenya and Zimbabwe.
2. Can the United States and the European Nations play a constructive role in collaborating with African governments in strengthening democracy? What, or what not, should that role consist of?
3. Can you think of any aspects of American or European-style democracy that you believe have been unsuccessful in your country or others in Africa? If so, why, and what ideas do you have that might work better?
4. To what extent does successful democracy depend on a strong, common sense of national identity? In what ways can ethnic, religious, linguistic, tribal, caste and regional identities be respected yet woven into common national identities? Can you think of any examples from your country or elsewhere?
5. Ideally, what do you believe the political role of the military should be in your country?
6. What do you believe is the single biggest obstacle or challenge to democracy in your home country? How would you like to see it addressed?
7. What social issues would have the best chance of being solved in your country as a result of greater democracy?
8. How can the rural and urban poor be given a role in political decision-making beyond the (sometimes very) occasional trip to the ballot box? Do you know of any efforts to “decentralize” power to the state, regional or village level in your home country?
9. Please discuss any issue related to strengthening democracy in Africa that you could not address by answering the previous questions. Any other questions we should ask?
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