The battle of political regimes – Democratic Transformations in Africa

By: Thelma Nyarhi

What informs Africans attitudes towards democracy? Many have assumed that citizens political opinions are informed by their own cultural values or socioeconomic circumstances. While this is true to some extent, analysts rarely ever consider otherwise. Of late, citizens have questioned their support for political regimes based on their performance and societal consequences. This has informed their political attitudes which in turn has caused a shift in political party support or state administration support entirely. These public attitudes have shaped the prospective regime consolidation and consequent political legitimation. This is how the democratic character is maintained and sustained. Over the years however, it has faced challenges relating to corruption, public discontent and unconstitutional activity rating it unstable in some states. For most African states, the levels of democracy observed are determined by the nature of the independence and liberation movements and their subsequent political cultures and regimes.

Trying to evaluate the status and comprehend the forces that shape democracy is no easy task. As a complex and yet multidimensional phenomenon and concept, its vital feature is free and fair elections. However, there is a civil and political reality that ought to measure up beyond elections. Citizens need to experience a shared public political culture that mirrors shared cultural values and manifests in day-to-day life. People need to experience democracy themselves and feel part and parcel of a democratic society through their exercise of choice and rights.

In the contemporary world, we find varying realities. Observers have noted that in the contemporary world, many people who may have not attained democracy are willing to risk their lives to achieve it. In other states however, profound debates of current states of democracy are underway. Policymakers, academics, citizens and politicians alike are asking themselves how to possibly enhance or maintain their current states of democracy. The current continental waves of coup de’ tat’s, attempts to extending presidential terms, civil protests, and conflict unrest attests to the reality of being further off from the original ideals of liberal democracy. In the Sahel region for example, countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger led by their respective junta are capitalizing on the popular discontent with previous democratically elected governments. This has brought democracy at crossroads, leaving some nations at democratic deficit.

The end of colonialism saw many liberation movements promising freedom, economic development and democracy. African governments were products of these movements however, decades later they have failed to live up to their promises. But why have most liberation and independence born governments failed to fulfil the promises of socioeconomic equity and democracy? What has made them betray the ideals of a socially inclusive societies?

The first generation to come into power soon after the liberation struggle, together with the subsequent generation, although bearing different dynamics, have in many cases exhibited similar failures in governance. At the core is the issue of the political culture – beliefs, sentiments and beliefs which order, govern and shape political processes and actions. The kind of political culture a country exhibits, ideally gets to shape that country’s reality. In as much as many of the liberation and independence movement turned governments have over the years professed support for democracy, they have failed to internalise its values, beliefs and attitudes. A democratic political culture in practice is what has been missing in the everyday life. While many countries such as South Africa and Ghana have experienced major democratic reforms, many have remained autocratic or became unstable democracies plagued by political unrest, but why?

Political culture postcoloniality

As hegemonic forces in society, liberation movements have allowed the replication of political culture. Some of the core elements we see in todays African liberation states include the domination of governments by small cliques either by generation, ethnicity or profession. These cliques often comprise of individuals who had dominated in the liberation struggle and post-independence became the ruling elite. Overtime, these cliques have been recycled in government positions making it difficult for anyone outside these cliques to penetrate higher ordering government positions.

These small cliques have also advocated for one-partyism states. One-partyism pushes the idea of the need to speak with one voice as a way of promoting nation building, stability and social integration. The alternative however – multipartyism, was seen as a threat to national unity at the time. Some of the states that exhibited this include Kenya which post-independence had Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) dissolving into Kenya African National Union (KANU) to form a single party. Post-independence the trend spread to countries like Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Malawi, and Cameroon. Leaders of these political parties enjoyed legitimacy and were seen as the liberators. Overtime, many of the liberation movement governments remained in power, playing on this idea of nostalgia through using liberation struggles discourse and imagery to coerce the public into voting them back in. Consequently, they have also pushed the mass nationalism rhetoric, claiming to be the embodiment of national unity and national identity. They have portrayed themselves as the only viable choice however, analysts have also noted their nature seemingly authoritarian, leaving states vulnerable to dictatorship. Furthermore, competition from opposition parties has been discouraged as they were/are often painted as the distractors of national unity and stability. Threats to the opposition leaders, by incarceration, deprived funds or attacks has also fractured some opposition parties making it difficult to rise up against the ruling parties.

While the above political culture prevails in most African societies, we have witnessed resistance as a cry for help from some of the countries citizens. This has materialised in the form of civil protests and an insurgence of staged coups. While many may see this as a threat to democracy, it is also a cry for change. Friction although unpopular, is necessary to bring awareness and exercise public opinion. In the contemporary world, opinion matters and could influence the actions of others. It is for this reason media is a highly monitored entity in some countries as we have seen in for example Senegal, during the electoral periods having citizens blocked off from sharing anything in the social media. In some countries media outlets are censored and tailored to push propaganda, conscientizing and shaping the political culture ideals of citizens. This in turn influences how they behave, feel or think of their state politics.

Despite the workings of media in steering conversation and thought process, more than ever what is needed is bravery and resistance to non-democratic political culture. In as much as the liberation movements played a huge part in the channelling of freedom, that freedom needs to be sustainably preserved through socioeconomic and political development. This is only possible through the decentralisation of the decision and policy making systems and opening up to plural forms of governance which accommodate multiple parties. This would in turn allow for innovative and constructive engagement essential for African prosperity.

Thelma Nyarhi is a researcher at the Democracy Development Program (DDP) and writes in her own capacity.