Democracy and Culture: An African Perspective

✍ Scribed by Lioba J. Moshi; Abdulahi A. Osman

• Publisher: Adonis & Abbey Publishers
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 260
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Since the end of the Cold War, Africa has witnessed a political rebirth and second liberation as decades of autocracy and dictatorship became gradually replaced by a new wave of democratization and plural political competition. This political rebirth has revived the Afro-optimism that accompanied the independence decade of the 1960s. This optimism, however, co-exists with protracted and deadly conflicts in many parts of the continent - from wars in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, to stalemate in democratic reform in Niger, Guinea and Cameroon, and democratic retraction in Uganda. Additionally, Africa faces many problems including wars, famine, refugees, internal displacement and a host of diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Similarly, despite the adoption of constitutions that guarantee the basic human rights and freedoms by many African states, human rights violations remain rampant throughout the continent's political landscape. Democracy and Culture: An African Perspective is an analysis of the democracy project in Africa. Basically the contributors seek answers to a number of fundamental questions: How is democracy to be defined in the African context? Is the Western style democracy which is being adopted in many parts of Africa culturally and environmentally neutral? Can it really be replicated in Africa? And what is the role of African culture in the current democracy project?

✦ Table of Contents

Title Page
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER TWO
PART I DEMOCRACY: A MULTIDSICIPLINARY CONCEPT
CHAPTER THREE
Empirical Patterns: Africa’s Partial Democratization1
Figure 3.1: Democratic Progress in Africa
Figure 3.2: Democratic Consolidation among Africa
Democracies
Figure 3.3: Successful Consolidations among New Democracies
Figure 3.4: Setback countries
Figure 3.5: Still Births: Non-Democratizing Countries
Table 3.1. Categories of Democratic Experiments in Africa (as of end 2003)
What Differentiates the Categories of African Democratic Experiments?
Table 3.2. Variability among Categories of Democratic Experiment
An Additional Hypothesis: Democracy as Export
Table 3.3.: Regression Analysis
Conclusions
Notes and references
CHAPTER FOUR
Historical background
Current Picture
Figure 4.1: Adult literacy rate by sex in sub Saharan Africa
Africa’s challenges to universal literacy and democracy
Language and culture
A framework to advance literacy and democracy
Conclusion
CHAPTER FIVE
OVERVIEW
Research overview
Table 5.1: Principal and official languages in selected African states
THE LANGUAGE ECOLOGY IN AFRICA
TOWARDS THE ARTICULATION OF JUDICIOUS POLICIES
Expansion of African linguistic markets
Facilitation of knowledge production
Eradication of illiteracy
Table 5.2: Adult (15+) Literacy Rates by Region and Gender for 2000- 2004
Table 5.3: Adult (15+) Literacy rates by sex per African states, 1990 - 2004
Development of participatory democracy
Conclusion
Notes and References
CHAPTER SIX
Introduction
What ‘globalization’ means and what it does not
Language vitality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A historical perspective
Lessons from South Africa
Conclusions
Notes and References
CHAPTER SEVEN
Colonialism and Its Impact on African state
Democracy, Governance and Africa’s Reality.
Conclusion:
Notes and References
PART II: CASE STUDIES
CHAPTER EIGHT
Multiparty Elections and Women’s Participation
Political Gains for Women
Beyond Numbers
Constraints
Conclusion
Notes and References
CHAPTER NINE
Background
Women Movements, Organizations and NGOs
Cultural hindrance
Achievement of Affirmative Action
Women Representation and Electoral system
A Statement of Specific Goals and Objectives of the Research
Results and Conclusions of the Study
CHAPTER TEN
The Democratic Tanzania
SAP, Role of the State and Democracy
Table 10.1.: Real GDP Growth for the Years 1988-1995 in Tanzania
Table 10. 2.: Real GDP Growth for the Years 1996-2005 in Tanzania
Figure 10.1: Trends of external trade 1986-2001
Table 10.3.: FDI Inflow to Tanzania 1994-1999
Development and Democracy
Conclusion
Notes and References
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Freedom of Expression as bedrock of development.
“Monga – Njawe Affair 1991”
Trailblazing Mavericks of the press
Continuity and Change
Conclusion
CHAPTER TWELVE
Democracy and Democratization in Africa: An overview
Figure 12.1: Freedom in sub Saharan Africa 1980-2006
III. Democratic Experience in Angola, Mali, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe
Table 12.1: Democratic scores of Angola, Mali, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe 1980- 2006
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Road Ahead: A Conclusion
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Index