editor@adonis-abbey.com UK: 0207 795 8187 / Nigeria:+234 705 807 8841
Table of Contents :
Democratic Peace Versus Democratic Conflict In Africa
Kenneth Omeje7
The roughly 50 years of Cold War between the Western bloc and the defunct Communist bloc was not just a bipolar struggle for ideological supremacy between the capitalist and socialist systems, it was also constructed by the victorious Western camp as a moral struggle between liberal democracy (canvassed as a universal good) and a godless form of totalitarian dictatorship (viewed as inherently evil).
This paper analyzes conceptions of democracy among 52 refugee students, randomly assigned into four groups, studying in universities in East African, by identifying what they prioritized as its vital attributes. The students were requested to listed, by consensus, the five top attributes for democracy. A total of 13 attributes emerged with transparency and accountability, rule of law, respect for human rights and dignity, freedom of expression and association, equality before the law, participation in decision making, political stability, equitable distribution of resources, social justice and fairness and free and fair elections capping the top ten. It was concluded that the attributes mirrored the theoretical models of democracy, with those fitting the classical liberal and social democratic models of democracy holding sway. In addition, they manifested the respondents’ suggestions, not only for the strengthening of democratic reforms but also, for combating conflict and refugeeism in Africa.
Since the end of the Cold War, the dominant international strategy for promoting peace has been through the use of democracy. Proponents of democracy posit that democratic accountability lowers incentives for rebellion and conflict in general. This strategy is founded on the rationale that by making governments more accountable, then citizens would have less cause to resort to violence or opposition against the government. This argument is consistent with the liberal ideals espoused by democratic peace theorists that democracy tends to perpetuate peace. A system based on democratic values would guarantee justice, equality and liberty for the people and decrease the number of conflicts within the state. Kenya’s transition to democracy is viewed in the same perspective; as an expansion of the political space to allow multiparty democracy to take root. Whilst political elections are a critical component to this process, events that occurred in the aftermath of Kenya’s 2007 general elections run parallel to the ideals espoused by democracy. Kenya’s transition to democracy, significantly characterized by political party competition and individuals’ quest for power, has along the way been dampened by the occurrence of pre- and post-election violent conflicts. The 2007 general election was therefore no exception to this trend, previously witnessed in 1992 and 1997. This paper examines some of the factors that underlie “democratic conflict” in Kenya.
This paper traces the history and dynamics of state collapse and anarchy in Somalia. It argues that the disintegration of the state is associated with the country’s political, demographic and ethnic contestations, as well as failure in post-colonial state-building – in particular, the construction of prebendal state in the post-colonial era. The paper identifies external intervention, as well as a host of political, social, humanitarian factors as the underpinning antecedents of state collapse and the rise of warlords, pirates and militias. The paper also examines the prospects of state reconstruction and peacebuilding in the light of recent events: the conduct of democratic elections, the establishment of an AU-led and UN-supported peacekeeping mission in Somalia, the mission’s defeat of El-Shabaab and recapture of the port of Kismayo and vast territories in the hinterland; the relocation of UN humanitarian mission from Nairobi to Mogadishu and the nascent resolve amongst the country’s governing elites to collectively chart the country’s new future. The paper notes that international support plays a significant role in reinforcing domestic ownership of the peace process and suggests that international stakeholders and Somalis, both at home and in the Diaspora are confident on the re-emergence of a stable and democratic Somalia. There exists a clear progress in state reconstruction and democratic institution-building in Somalia. Nevertheless, it is argued that the apparent and unresolved fragmentation of Somalia into splinter states poses a challenge to the re-emergence of a single state in the mould of its pre-1991 order. A lot depends on how domestic, regional and international stakeholders handle the prevailing situation, but the legitimate splinter of the country into two or three stable sovereign states, remains an option that ought to be explored; this remain to be seen in the coming years and decades
This paper attempts to analyze the state of democracy in Africa and argues that its stalled nature undermines the African Union governance agenda. It draws attention to the existing correlation between democracy and governance which is derived from key indicators, including elections, framework of accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, and quality regulation, rule of law and corruption control. These indicators are instructive in categorizing states, characterizing regimes and determining what constitutes a stalled regime. Furthermore, it explores the challenges of consolidation emanating from states at institutional, cultural and structural aspects and reconciles their compatibility with the notion of democracy. Finally, it shows that democracy as a mechanism of state-building and governance in Africa is not only dynamic, but a burden owing to its divergent meanings, trajectory and purpose in different contexts. These characteristics pose the challenge of integrating democracy in the context of diffusion and consolidation of state-building, considered important prerequisites for effective governance.
In October 2010, Nigeria’s National Economic Council declared that the country would no longer play ‘big brother’ role to countries without getting anything in return. The NEC argued that while Nigeria would continue to be a responsible member of the international community, going forward, its foreign policy would be guided strictly by ‘national interest’. This article appraises this ‘new’ policy proposal and contends that it is based on a wrong notion of ‘national interest.’
Much attention has been paid to the economic and sometimes political factors, responsible for the pervasive incidents of military coup d’états in West Africa. While the analyses stress power struggles among competing elites, they oftentimes overlook the colonial aspect of the problem. This paper argues that at the root of the problem is the colonial architecture which lumped otherwise disparate pre-colonial social groups together. While this forced social intercourse has resulted in political and economic marginalization of some groups within, attempts by marginalized groups to throw off age-long hegemonic yoke sometimes result to military coup d’états. Hence beneath these coups is the undercurrent of identity crisis, even when they do not overtly espouse separatist agenda. The paper posits that the inability of ECOWAS to deter and prevent these coups despite its zero-tolerance policy to unconstitutional accession to or maintenance of power is a direct consequence of its ambivalence in the use of military force to reverse such unconstitutional actions. This in effect is a function of the mutual distrust among its neo-colonial Anglo-phone, Franco-phone and Luso-phone blocs. There is the need however to devise inclusive mechanism that will ensure power-sharing among the social groups within the political communities to contain the resentment emanating from hegemonic controls.
Many studies in the area of sources of conflict, conflict resolution and peacekeeping in Africa tend to overemphasize realist power-centred explanations or neo-liberal explanations, which focus more on the role of power relations and constellations of interests, respectively, in conflict situations. By so doing, they neglect the social and cultural factors which shape events and actors’ perceptions and behaviours in international relations and are thereby limited in their ability to provide adequate explanations for Africa. This inadequacy has been addressed in this study by reinforcing the constructivist sociological approach to understanding the security dilemma in Africa. This study does away with the over-simplistic descriptions of the causes of conflict in general and Darfur in particular. It provides a statistical basis for analysis of the sources of conflict in Sudan from where inferences are made for Darfur and points policy makers in the direction of the multiple factors, both structural and psycho-cultural, that sustain the conflict in Darfur and which should have ideally informed the substantive nature, mandate and structure of the AU Mission.
Annual Subscription Rate |
Individual Subscriptions |