theoretical disarray and the study of democratisation in africa

Theoretical Disarray and the Study of Democratisation in AfricaDemocratization in Africa: African Views, African Voices. Summary of Three Workshops bySahr John Kpundeh; The Politics of Africa's Economic Recovery by Richard SandbrookReview by: John F. ClarkThe Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Sep., 1993), pp. 529-534Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/161221 .

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The Journal of Modern African Studies, 31, 3 (I993), pp. 529-534 Copyright ? 1993 Cambridge University Press

THEORETICAL DISARRAY AND THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATISATION IN AFRICA

Democratization in Africa: African views, African voices. Summary of Three Workshops edited by SAHR JOHN KPUNDEH

Washington, DC, National Academy Press, 1992. Pp. viii+85. /I3.95 paperback.

The Politics of Africa's Economic Recovery by RIC HARD SANDBROOK

Cambridge University Press, I993. Pp. x+ i70. C27.95. 10.95 paperback.

As much as one may delight in a number of recent African developments, which promise at least a reinvigoration of politics if not a democratic renaissance, there is still a great deal of reason for uneasiness. Most of this concern is now centred on the observable impediments to democratisation that continue to plague the continent: unspeakable poverty, ethnic strife, corrupt political classes, deeply-rooted authoritarian habits, and so on. Almost as troubling, however, is the absence of a strong theoretical model to demonstrate how a 'typical' African society might acquire and maintain a democratic regime. If no one can envision and outline a path for how African states are to move from corrupt and stagnant authoritarianism to democracy, then one must conclude that the prospects for them to do so are poor indeed.

Naturally enough, given Africa's depressing poverty, the focus during the first three decades of independence was on development, and distinct theoretical models for the achievement of this goal were advanced. For instance, Crawford Young's simple tripartite typology, including the Afro- Marxist, African socialist, and capitalist models, seemed to describe adequately the most important formulations. In retrospect, however, Benin, C6te d'Ivoire, and Zambia, which were broadly representative of the three approaches, had much in common in regard to their political-economic organisation, namely personal rule, neo-patrimonialism, clientelism, and corruption. Moreover, the supposedly 'market-oriented' states were nearly as encumbered by extractive state marketing boards and failing state-owned enterprises as were the 'Afro- Marxist' states.'

Most of these models made assumptions about the political processes that would accompany development, and two explicitly rejected the possibility (or desirability) of democracy in their theories: bureaucratic-authoritarianism and Marxism-Leninism. In the case of the former, democratic participation was regarded as a short-term impediment to accumulation of capital needed for investment and to rational government policy. Only once a certain level of development was achieved, as in contemporary Korea, would democratisation become desirable, or even possible. In the case of the latter, 'real' democracy was defined as 'democratic centralism', in which an ideologically-correct elite

1 See Crawford Young, Ideology and Development in Africa (New Haven and London, 1982).



JOHN F. CLARK

made policy on behalf of the masses, who had not yet attained class consciousness.

Only some versions of modernisation theory held out the hope that increasing political liberalisation would proceed hand-in-hand with development through all the 'stages' of economic growth. Faith in this model was quickly undermined, though, both by the deterioration of the shaky democratic institutions left by departing colonial powers and by the mediocre economic performance of Africa's 'market-oriented' states. The World Bank's free market ideology is a resurrection of this basic philosophy, and its structural adjustment programmes are manifestations of this approach. While originally indifferent to political liberalisation or democracy, the Bank began to link them with its economic agenda at the end of the I98os.

Disturbingly, however, few theorists seem to have strong conviction in any of the old models any longer, the main continuity with the past being the belief that Africa's political prospects are linked closely with its economic fortunes. Only the World Bank economists are 'true believers' today, but how long can it be before Africa's sorry economic performance since I980 shakes even their faith? Moreover, the 'wave' of democratisation seems to have already crested, and crashed on the treacherous shoals of social disgruntlement, perhaps on the way to retreating into the ocean of repressive quietude. In the wake of these epochal events is left a kind of cognitive dissonance in the theories of politico- economic development, which is even more disturbing than the partisan debates that marked the three decades between i965-85. Both of the books reviewed here are broadly illustrative of this development.

Democratization in Africa: African views, African voices summarises the discussions of participants in the workshops organised in Cotonou, Addis Ababa, and Windhoek during 1992 by the National Research Council at the request of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Condensing the wide-ranging views of some 95 panelists - a smattering of whom, despite the book's sub-title, are well-known Western scholars - could not have been an easy task, but Sahr John Kpundeh was faithful to, and competent in fulfilling, his editorial mandate. Thus it is striking that two or three identifiable positions on the major issues of democratisation do not emerge. Instead, one hears only platitudinous agreement on the vague needs of 'reform' or 'democracy', and occasional oblique references to important theorists like Barrington Moore

(p. 14) and Albert Hirschman (p. 27) are brief and, incidentally, unacknowl- edged. Apparently, the older theoretical literature did not figure much in the panel discussions, and certainly not in the report that attempts 'to synthesize the key issues in the three workshops and to capture the highlight of what proved to be an intense and often exhilarating series of discussions' (p. 2).

This is not to say that the panelists failed to raise important issues of democratisation. Indeed, the list of their concerns, delineated by a profusion of sub-headings, was probably too long, including constitutional reform, good governance, the appropriate separation of powers, decentralisation, civil society, the state and the military, human rights, ethnicity, the role of women, education, and still others. Regrettably, the key issues are left unidentified, and none are thoroughly explored, perhaps understandably in this short volume. Typically, there are comments about problems such as poor education,

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THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATISATION

human rights abuses, ethnic strife, and so on, with few useful suggestions as to how they should be addressed. It is precisely the kind of theoretical models that once dominated the debates on politico-economic development that could have sorted wheat from chaff, and infused clear, if single-minded, prescriptions in these mostly vapid discussions. One almost longs for the voice of some committed Leninist to come blaring through, at least to serve as a reference point in the unfocused dialogues!

There were also apparent moments of mass denial and self-exoneration during the workshops, notably on the extent of freedom in pre-colonial African societies. According to Kpundeh, 'it was acknowledged that certain basic rights that are present in the precolonial period are today being denied in many African countries' (p. 9). Perhaps, but this obscures the reality that very few 'basic rights' were present in any societies until the twentieth century,2 and one senses more of a desire to place blame for Africa's woes than to grapple with the messy issues in establishing democracy. One gets the same sense from the time-worn, if largely accurate, assertions that first colonialism, and subsequently, the cold war and lack of appropriate foreign aid have been the main causes of tyranny in Africa since I960 (pp. 6-7 and 48-9). While discovering the sources of repression during the last 30 years might be a logical first step in the National Research Council's 'Project on Democratization', no particularly useful suggestions for the future resulted from these findings.

In the absence of two or three clear, alternative programmes designed to spur democratisation and development, countless commonplace observations appear to have studded the deliberations. Kpundeh quotes one panellist as noting that 'Freedoms of the individual are critical to African participation and thus progress toward democracy' (p. 23), with someone else pointing out that 'one should neither destroy the state or leave it to wither away, but should help the state find its proper role' (p. 26). Except in highly unusual cases like Somalia, states rarely 'wither away', and one has to wonder at the utility of the observation. Another panellist claimed that 'Generally, the more press there is, the greater the difficulty government has in suppressing it' (p. 40).

According to Kpundeh's brief summary of the panellists' feelings, 'The concentration of assistance in the hands of the few, for example, had enabled some governments to build levels of repressive power that democratic movements are now striving to reduce' (pp. 6o-i). Unfortunately, such remarks appear not to have come as rhetorical flourishes on long, involved discussions, but rather as core reflections on the topics at hand. Moreover, where there are firm disagreements on specific issues (see pp. 76-7), these did not seem informed by strong underlying beliefs about the overall approach that African states ought to take.

The factual truisms were parallelled by moral platitudes of a similar calibre, including:

[participants] argued that merit and professionalism, rather than ethnicity should be the primary criteria for promotion to national offices or to the civil service (p. 19).

2 Cf. Vincent G. Simiuy, 'The Democratic Myth in the African Traditional Societies', in Walter O. Oyugi et al. (eds.), Democratic Theory and Practice in Africa (London and Portsmouth, NH, i988), pp. 49-70.

53I



JOHN F. CLARK

there was general agreement that it will be difficult to achieve democracy without eradicating corruption and establishing effective measures to ensure some level of accountability and transparency in African countries (p. 39).

participants held the view that African militaries would do well to become professional and disciplined, conscious of human rights standards and protections, and productive (p. 53).

While few would disagree with such ethical and administrative pleas, which punctuate virtually every paragraph in this volume, they only beg the question of how the undeniably good ends of establishing fair civil services, eradicating corruption, and reforming militaries are to be achieved. Precious few such suggestions are offered here, however.

According to Kpundeh, 'Although there was consensus in all workshops that Africans have to take the lead in the transition to democracy, it was also agreed that there is a need for external actors in helping to tackle the problems in Africa' (p. 75). Incidentally, the previous chapter had identified some 17 different priorities for Western donors.3 The emphasis, though, is on the need of Africans to invent a 'credible alternative... to the Western model of democracy' (p. 74). If either Africans or Westerners are to transcend what Jean-FranCois Bayart has recently called the 'paradigm of the yoke',4 then this is an encouraging conclusion. Since previous Western models, from market- oriented liberal democracy to one-party Leninism, have mostly failed in Africa, a new paradigm would be most welcome. Though the Weltanschauung of the prominent African participants was thoroughly penetrated by Western views and values, the workshops themselves served as useful fora for the beginning of the theoretical reconstruction necessitated by the collapse of the old developmental approaches. Thus, while the resulting book is mostly useful as a catalogue of issues related to democratisation, the intellectual and moral stimulation of the panelists was probably quite important.

The Politics of Africa's Economic Recovery provides an undeniably accurate analysis of the continent's many woes, like the volume edited by Kpundeh, as well as valuable insights on democratisation from a thoughtful and capable scholar. Richard Sandbrook is keenly aware of the important linkage between economic improvement and political liberalisation even more than the aforementioned panelists, and impressively offers nearly as many specific examples (drawn from virtually every African state) as does the report of the thoughts of nearly ioo discussants. Sandbrook also manages to keep his book mercifully free from the academic jargon that plagues most general discussions of politico-economic development. Ultimately, however, he also comes up short in terms of theoretical vision, because despite telling critiques of previous models and contemporary practice in Africa, Sandbrook fails to ground his own suggestions on the sort of sound theoretical footing that could offer a real alternative to these approaches.

Indicative of this failure is the contradiction between Sandbrook's analysis of the current scene in Africa and the policy advice that he offers. On the one hand, he frequently acknowledges the 'unpalatable reality' that the 'cultural,

a On the need for donor priorities, see Jeffrey Herbst, U.S. Economic Policy Toward Africa (New York, Council of Foreign Relations Press, 1992), pp. 20-5.

4 Jean-Fran5ois Bayart, The State in Africa: the politics of the belly (London, I993), pp. 2-10.

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THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATISATION

historical, political and socio-economic conditions in Africa have not been fertile ground for nourishing strong, developmental states... [or] democracy' (p. 87). He also often points out the many failings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund approach, which advocates economic and political liberalisation, yet reluctantly argues for the 'liberal-democratic, free- enterprise model', which despite its various 'contradictions and short- comings... offers the best option in the short run of the 99os ' (p. 4). Similarly, Sandbrook is deeply ambivalent about the role of the state in promoting either development or democracy; he notes on the one hand the dim prospects for African studies to overcome their fiscal, administrative, and political incapacities, but then, paradoxically, insists on the 'centrality of an effective state' (p. 55) in performing these roles.

Perhaps such ambivalence can be explained best by recognising Sandbrook as an intelligent and compassionate socialist,5 who is keenly aware of the failures of both the Marxist-Leninist and etatist models. Despite his reluctant endorsement of capitalist democracy in the short run, he is still calling- vaguely - for a 'more transformational approach'. This, he hopes, will deliver more 'equity' in the long term. One residue of Sandbrook's older preferences is his preoccupation with the (urban) civil service, to which considerable space is allotted, while the peasantry is virtually ignored. Though one wonders whether the pain of displaced civil servants is the continent's worst problem, this is in keeping with the long tradition of Marxist sociology of Africa. Sandbrook also repeats the argument of the dependency school that the Western financial institutions lured African states into their fold, so as to fully exploit their peripheral status. His critiques of privatisation, export promotion (in one-commodity economies), and other aspects of structural adjustment are rigorous. Indeed, these arguments by Sandbrook are so compelling, one wonders why African states ought to follow the advice of the I.M.F. and the World Bank in the short run, which is his counsel.

Sandbrook's writing is most animated in his final chapter, when he turns to the discussion of the 'transformational' approach that he advocates for the long run. He sets the tone by asserting that Marxist theories 'still offer a powerful critique of capitalism as it has evolved in Africa, and an invigorating vision of a participatory, classless, and non-exploitative future society' (p. 121). The first part of this statement can be widely accepted, even by non- Marxists; the second half, however, appears more a lapse into rhetoric. As his discussion of a 'transformational' approach reveals, the vision may be 'invigorating' but it is not particularly realistic. According to Sandbrook, the ' egalitarian, participatory strand of the socialist vision is not just a pious hope' (p. I22), but rather a viable approach that actually guided Mozambique and Ethiopia during the first few years of their respective socialist revolutions.

In the author's view, these populist, egalitarian movements are proof that a compassionate socialism can work in Africa even if'the realities of socialism in power have blighted the socialist vision' (p. I 24). As students of revolutions

5 See Richard Sandbrook, The Politics of Basic Needs: assaulting urban poverty in Africa (London, 1982), and 'Liberal Democracy in Africa: a socialist-revisionist perspective', in Canadian Journal of African Studies (Toronto), 22, 3, I988, pp. 240-67.

533



are bound to point out, however, almost all of them progress through stages of liberating, populist euphoria to phases of either bourgeois democracy or, more typically, strong authoritarian control.6 Inspiring as these moments may have been, they hardly seem like the basis for the organisation of popular developmental states that can lead Africa out of its contemporary morass. No society has thus far been able to 'freeze' its socio-political management at this felicitous stage.

The up-shot of Sandbrook's contribution, then, is to further undermine the prevailing dominant World Bank/I.M.F. vision for Africa's politico-economic development without putting anything very substantial in its place. Doubtless, the 'theoretical malaise' now affecting so much reflection on political economy may not really bother many policy-makers in the West or African governments, and some may even celebrate it. But it ought to both perturb and energise the scholarly community. Thus far, Africa's problems have confounded, either in theory or practice, every cohesive model promising political liberalisation and economic fulfilment. The result is that hundreds of millions are continuing to suffer deprivation and repression. Without overlooking the importance of individual will and leadership in achieving such social goods, new models that offer real alternatives must be developed. Otherwise, the end of Africa's 'perpetual crises' may still be many decades away.

JOHN F. CLARK

Department of International Relations, Florida International University, Miami

6 Consider, for example, the paths of the French (1789), Russian (I917), and Iranian

( 979-80) revolutions. For a classic account of the problems encountered, see Crane Brinton, The Anatomy of Revolution (New York, I965 edn.), as well as Stanley Kober, 'Revolutions Gone Bad', in Foreign Policy (Washington, DC), 9I, Summer 1993, pp. 63-83.

534 JOHN F. CLARK



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