Democracy in Africa
The Economist’s analysis sounds right to me. Vote rigging is pretty common in African elections, but that is not surprising in nascent/quasi-democracies. What seems more important is that Africans, by and large, see democracy as the only legitimate form of government. Even though the practice of democracy often falls short on the continent, it is more common for people to criticise the leaders of their country than their form of government. This was pretty much what I heard at the local government conference I attended in Zambia this week as well in Chatsworth last week. At the end of the day, I agree with The Economist’s optimism.
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I’ll admit, the bottom line being “the fight is not going too badly” does not make me feel as optimistic as the Economist commentators seem. Nevertheless, this article reminds me of something Jennifer Windsor said in a House Foreign Affairs hearing earlier this summer. With regard to evaluating the net impact of U.S. foreign aid and democracy assistance, she urged a holistic and context-based approach rather than strict yardsticks for measuring success. In so many of these African “quai-democracies,” context is so key–and maybe that’s what ought to make someone like me be a little more optimistic considering the historical circumstances here.
Yes indeed. We have to accept these countries as they are, not as we would wish them to be. I am in South Africa at the moment. Democracy here leaves a lot to be desired, but given its history and massive inequalities, things could be a lot worse – and many thought they would be. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t push the country to be better, but we need to be mindful of the difficulties countries face.