Stock of a political crisis at the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, on 18 july 2008. Research report an overview of political succession in africa from. Countries such as those of burma, iran, and honduras should be accepted as a valid form of government by the democratic countries. The paper using available sources of data and predicated on modernization theory argues that the african political instability and other related crisis is a consequence of its leadership problems. An intrinsic feature of any dictatorship is that first and foremost it serves political ends. Over the past few years south africans have watched zuma tick off the ingredients of the recipes in a book that could be called how to make an african dictator. Top 20 most brutal and ruthless dictators in africa. Zumas administration can be likened to baking a dictatorshipflavoured cake. Brazils political crisis stemmed from the way in which the political tensions had been controlled in the 1930s and 1940s during the vargas era. Using examples and case studies drawn from different parts of tropical africa, the book investigates both theoretically and in considerable empirical detail a range of key issues and institutions in the government and politics of african states. Transitions to democracy in africa democratization in africa. It evolved from the ditadura nacional national dictatorship formed after the coup detat of 28 may 1926 against the democratic and unstable first republic.
This may partly explain the inability of peaceful power succession in the sub region, which has always led to political crises which manifests itself in dictatorship. We find that about a third of all successions were regulated, and that the presence of a political crisis is the critical obstacle to a regulated succession, more important than either economic or cultural crises. Understanding african politics chris allen generalisation about african politics and political systems is made difficult by the extent to which african states both differ from one another and have changed since independence. This is the first in a series of research notes on political succession in africa.
Department of mass communication akwa ibom state polytechnic, ikot ekpene, nigeria email. Civil strives and the politics of religion in some part of african countries like nigeria and sudan. Areas covered range from political system types, political economies, and political cultures of diverse. Eyadema is the pioneer of africa s first military coup detat, an act that soon became the political trend in africa. Its principles and achievement publication prepared and edited by the interparliamentary union. It is important to acknowledge the possibility of inverting this argument to note that the failure to consolidate democracy results in unconstitutional changes of government in africa. These groups will have opposed preferences over di. According to this model corruption will be lower in countries where political accountability and. Following colonialism, dictatorship continued in many parts of africa. Kogi state university, department of philosophy and religious studies amana, o. The mount kenya faction of narc opted to have mody awori of ldp as. Dictatorship, democracy and economic regime reflections on the experience of south korea werner kamppeter, january 2008, fes korea rhetoric of reaction this calligraphy hangs in a jazz club in samcheongdong, a quarter of seoul in the neighbourhood of the old royal palace and the blue house, the modern presidential palace. These accounts can be persuasive precisely because such states are indeed exemplars but not of all african states, only of significant and distinct subsets. Thus senegal, zaire, cameroon or somalia become exemplars of african politics and african political systems in general.
As i explain below, a close examination of the presidents behavior, revealed in his interviews. The economic effects of democracy and dictatorship uio. The penury in the midst of plenty that pervade the walls of many african states is a. At domestic level, african governments are run in ways that have been regarded as far from the modern western state systems,osei tutu, 2004 upon which they are modelled. For african leaders, the new momentum meant that survival became predicated on political adjustments towards liberalism, rather than the dictatorship. Dec 16, 2014 drawing on a historical study of nigeria since independence, dr. A critical appreciation of a heritage, by professor peter anyang nyongo. This article briefly assesses succession politics in togo, a small west african nation of approximately 5 million people, following the death of president. The politics of succession in postindependence west africa has left much to be desired and, by extension, has affected the quality of democracy and human security in the subregion. These three dimensions are 1 hereditary succession, or lineage. Obviously this debate was created to prove that dictatorship is the best path to development. The degree to which political leaders can pursue their narrow selfinterests is then a function of the tightness of the political constraints they face. African international relations oau ended in 2002 and african union au began, hoping to build on successes of oau in continuing search for african unity.
Political succession in east africa in search for a limited leadership. The dynamics of domination and crisis working paper. The discourse of democratic failure in the current european crisis. We also find that economic performance is a significant longterm factor in a countrys succession record. An introduction examines the history of the term an d practice of dictatorship. An introduction to african politics, this course will provide for its participants a general survey of the main issues regarding politics in the continent. Click download or read online button to get democracy and dictatorship in ghana and tanzania book now. Introduction maurice nyamanga amutabi and shadrack wanjala nasongo 2. Espana franquista, known in spain as the francoist dictatorship spanish. Thesis department of political science, university of oslo contact. This report on political parties in africa is part of the programme of research and dialogue on political parties undertaken by the international institute for democracy and electoral assistance idea during the years 20042006. The vice has been deeply embedded in africa and has become the bane of african politics. The history of power and the negotiation of the rule in africa might explain why political succession frequently turns into a war on the continent.
Exploring alternative approaches for managing electoral injustice in africa the case of breast protests in nigeria and the sex strike in kenya introduction peace and confl ict are outcomes of human relations. The challenges of leadership and governance in africa human. Top 20 most brutal and ruthless dictators in africa african. With regard to discussions concerning the overthrow of african dictators, some. European settlement in southern africa tended to be more entrenched and lasted. African governance systems in the pre and postindependence periods. The framers of africa s new political institutions must not fail to address the multiple aspects of the current social crisis. The african political instability and other related problems is basically a consequence of its leadership problem.
Abstract the objective of this paper was to examine various electoral malpractices and problems in africa, looking critically at suffrage, franchise and elections and the attendant problems as. Dictatorial and democratic electoral systems since 1946. A political economy of africa and the contemporary global. How a cold war turned into a very hot one central africa has been shaped by complex regional dynamics, through which local disputes and national conflicts have spilled over national borders. The development advisory committee of the organization for economic cooperation and development is on record in support of participatory development, which includes democratization, improved governance, and human rights. There is, in actuality no african country where political succession is not in one way or another kind of problem if not a crisis. Read constitutional and succession crisis in west africa.
Corruption in dictatorships washington state university. The use by african state elites of arbitrary and repressive measures and their inability to apply governmental regulations throughout the national territory is a sign of state weakness or softness. The word democracy is one of the most used terms of the political vocabulary. Africa s political and economic reforms was crucial in the democratic changes and economic liberalism that swept much of african in the 1990s. Here are additional pros and cons of a dictatorship to discuss. However, a close afrocentric look at the elements of this regime. From this perspective, mobutus system has been classified as a military dictatorship. A comparative analysis political economy of agricultural policy in africa tracking development april 2012. The west african subregion has several unique features in terms of politics on the african.
Feb 05, 20 how dictators come to power in a democracy. This vital concept, through its transcultural dimension and because it touches. I would like to extend our deep appreciation to prof. It has since been translated into at least eight other languages and has been published in serbia, indonesia, and thailand, among other countries. This paper is a critical analysis of leadership and governance crises in africa. Vargas dictatorship and the presidencies of his democratic successors marked different stages of brazilian populism 19301964, an era of economic nationalism, stateguided modernization, and import substitution trade policies. No one has produced any evidence of brainwashing even after exposure for over 50 years to communist propaganda. Certain issues always come to mind when one thinks of east african politics, and the issues that inform the study of african politics are numerous.
The function of family imagination omale, simeon achonu, ph. Under the selfdescribed duterte dictatorship administration in the philippines, between fy 2016 and fy 2017, the number of violent crimes decreased dramatically. Five decades of misrule routledge african studies amutabi, maurice nyamanga, nasongo, shadrack wanjala on. Pdf democracy, political instability and the african crisis of. Exploring alternative approaches for managing electoral. The challenges of leadership and governance in africa. Thomson 2000 has written a text with wideranging coverage, including state, civil society, external interests, ideology, ethnicity, religion, neocolonialism, democracy, and legitimacy, among others. In their seminal study, przeworski and limongi 1993 evaluated four theoretical arguments on the relationship between political regime type and economic growth. Economic violence feeds political violence, and vice versa.
Their advances into mali triggered a humanitarian crisis further undermining the. Politics of southern africa political science oxford. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Carl levan of american univerity argues in his new book, dictators and democracy in african development. Dictatorship is the best path to development debatewise. Estado espanol, is the period of spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when francisco franco ruled spain as dictator with the title caudillo.
The effects of the end of the cold war on central african. Nov 03, 2009 the effects of the end of the cold war on central african politics. Africa s legacy of military involvement in politics will ensure that the military continues to play a role in the ongoing processes of political transition for some time to come. Beyond dictatorship in the democratic republic of congo claver lumana pashi 5. The primary objective of the paper is to analyze how the peripheral incorporation of africa into the global capitalist political economy engenders a dynamic of domination and crisis, a situation which shapes and underlines dependency and underdevelopment in africa. Background in the last 25 years following the collapse of communism in eastern europe, the challenges of african governance systems and the nexus between them and the plight of african youth have elicited. Another major feature which engulfs the african political terrain is corruption. Department of political science and public administration, babcock university. Constitutional and succession crisis in west africa. Of the three causes, the third presents the least problem. In the context of the black african states professor abdel kader boye 37.
And after the fall of communism, we have a lot less reason to think they are at all successful. In africa, some countries have summers or are still run by men with evocative names like kaddafi in. Dictatorships can be good for a country or society because it lets one person make all the decisions in a quick, efficient manner. Nov 24, 2017 following colonialism, dictatorship continued in many parts of africa.
From dictatorship to democracy was originally published in bangkok in 1993 by the committee for the restoration of democracy in burma in association with khit pyaing the new era journal. This paper examines democracy, political instability and the crisis of underdevelopment in africa. Library oc congress cataloging in publication data poulantzas, nicos ar the crisis of the dictatorships. Political instability in africa where the problem lies and. A political economy of africa and the contemporary global crisis. In fact, there have only been 189 countryyears of democracy in africa compared to 1823 countryyears of dictatorship between 1946 and 2000. The relationship between state and society in eritrea is not a positive one. Dictatorship in africa dictatorship in africa the early 20th century was marked by the development of several dictatorships, western europe, asia, africa and latin america. The case of togo, african journal of legal studies on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips. Africas political and economic reforms was crucial in the democratic changes and economic liberalism that swept much of african in the 1990s. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
The chief goal of this book is to provide readers with a wide ranging but accessible guide to the plurality of. Democracy, political instability and the african crisis of. However, neither is a permanent condition and rarely do they. Given a tradition of problematic political transitions in francophone subsaharan africa, julius agbor and john mukum mbaku examine the prospects. Three things will bring about a dictatorship in africa. This article discusses whether it is nevertheless possible to understand african states as examples of the same. These problems generated by political, social and economic instability and the prevalence of ethnic, communal and religious crises, which have bedeviled africa, call our. Taylor, in their book politics in southern africa bauer and taylor 2011, cited under general overviews, describe southern africa as having a quality of regionness that makes it distinct from other african regions. University of ibadan, nigeria and has taught african politics, international relations and.
This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that. The leadership question has become a recurring issue in the discourse on the. Political succession in east africa in search for a limited leadership acknowledgements the editors would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who participated in the east african conference on political succession held in kampala, uganda on 10th and 11th july, 2003. Sebastian elischer analyzes political parties in ghana, kenya and namibia in detail, and provides a preliminary analysis of parties in seven other countries including tanzania, botswana, senegal, zambia, malawi, burkina faso and benin. African personal dictatorships the journal of modern.
Crisis, violence and political succession in africa. There are many arguments as to the cause of the current economic crisis in africa from political instability, to underdeveloped human resources, to the oil crisis of the. Dictatorship isnt always accompanied by hardship, oppression, and little freedom. The political economy of good governance in nigeria african studies book kindle edition by a. Democracy and governance in africa democratization in. The challenges of leadership and governance in africa afegbua, salami issa. Paradoxically, the independent african states consolidates power at the political.
Adding considerable depth with a thorough look at colonial and precolonial history, he considers an impressive range of. In this authoritative work, a scholar with long experience in the continent construes his subject broadly to include the extensive complex of factors affecting the ability of african states to carry on the business of modernization and consolidation of political institutions. A personal account, by professor dani wadada nabudere. Damian kogi state university, department of mass communication abstract.
Modernisation theory helped to foster state weakness in africa, as economic decisions were based on the personal interests of rulers and their close allies, and not on the countrys best interests. The main problems affecting african politics in 2017 the. Enduring lessons and opportunities for youth in africa 1. Democracy, political instability and the african crisis of underdevelopment. An african political phenomenon western political literature and analyses view political systems as ranging from democracies to monarchies to totalitarian dictatorships. He organized a presidential election in 1998 and canceled in the interests of national security when he was losing. It has since been translated into at least thirtyone other languages and has been published in serbia, indonesia, and thailand, among other countries. These four arguments are only a subset of the existing arguments in the. Characteristics of political structure are modeled as clauses of an incomplete contract. This book examines the effects of ethnicity on party politics in subsaharan africa. The regime of most of these african dictators was marked by horror, terror, chaos, and bloodshed. For african leaders, the new momentum meant that survival became predicated on political adjustments towards liberalism, rather than the dictatorship or oneman rule of the past.
Political leadership and development in kenya, uganda, and tanzania fredrick o. Out of the personalist dictatorship in north korea. Regardless of how they came to power, these people are regarded as the worst dictators in africa. African politics has been described as a matter of personality, not programs, especially under singleparty systems. As we have seen time and again, african leaders wish to keep political participation as low as possible.
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