Money for Democracy: An Oxymoron in Africa

The international community has plenty of reason to be invested in the spread of democracy throughout Africa.  Democracy has failed to consolidate in this resource-rich continent, though. Within African political institutions there is little legitimate competition.  In many African countries participation in the electoral process is considered futile as most nations are single-party states. Ex ante uncertainty and ex post irreversibility are required if democracy is to be considered consolidated but the absence of constitutional traditions and civil society in post-colonial Africa has led to little popular legitimacy in government.  Meager economic resources and low state capacity have allowed for extractive economies institutionalized by neopatrimonialism (Bates 2008).

            Though unstable governance characterizes the transitional period of most once-colonized nations, Africa’s instability has persisted for an exceptionally long period of time.  One possible cause of prolonged instability in Africa is the state in which colonial powers left the continent. Traditions of authoritarian rule were deeply entrenched in African politics by the time many African nations achieved independence (van de Walle 2001).  Regardless of the reasons Africa remains relatively devoid of consolidated democracies, its authoritarianism has cost the international community money and man power.  In the face of humanitarian crises and economic instability, the West's motives for implementing democracy in Africa have strengthened.  In recent years the West has focused more resources on stabilizing the region through incentivizing democracy.

 That the very nations which once enslaved Africa now want to move the continent forward is an irony not lost on many of Africa’s despots.  The Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership is one example of the West’s patronizing (though well-intentioned) incentives for democratic consolidation in Africa.   The multimillion-dollar prize is given to an African leader who “demonstrated excellence in office” (NYTimes)  African leaders like Mugabe, Mobutu and Haile Selassie go to extraordinary lengths in order to protect their kleptocracy.  Perhaps the international community think African dictators love money so much that it alone would serve as enough encouragement to democratize.  For the past two years, however, the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership has not been awarded.  2011 marks the third year that the money goes unawarded (NYTimes).

Although this is the third time in four years that there have been no cases of exceptional leadership in Africa, this does not mean there won’t be in 2012.  Democratization in Africa is a painfully slow process and not made easier by the continent’s geography, climate, history of colonialism and the exploitative nature of the West’s relations with African nations.  Incentives for democratic consolidation like the Ibrahim Prize will not be successful at driving the democratic process in Africa.  Paying leaders to behave democratically is not democratic, after all.  In order for democracy to take hold in Africa, the international community must interact democratically with the continent.  Having frequently propped up dictators throughout Africa, we cannot expect them to suddenly give up their power.  By modeling democracy to the best of their ability, nations outside of Africa can demonstrate the advantages  of popular legitimacy for both the individual leader and his people.

Sources:
"No Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership This Year" By Adam Nossiter. October 15 2012.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/world/africa/no-ibrahim-prize-for-african-leadership-this-year.html?_r=0

Bates, Robert. 2008.  "Policy Choices" In: When Things Fell Apart.  Cambridge University Press. pp. 55-74.

van de Walle, Nicolas. 2001.  "Decision Making in Postcolonial Africa" In:  African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979-1999.  Cambridge University Press.