In Steven Radelet’s chapter
from Emerging Africa (Friday's reading), he concludes
how democratization is not always a clear path to success in a country. Various things can go wrong at any time, and
democracy is not something set in stone.
A country cannot just meet a few things off a checklist and become a
democratic nation. Despite these
problems, democracy has shown that it increases the quality of governance. The Gambia is one of those countries that
didn’t stay on the right path. It was
one of the few countries that could be labeled as a democracy in the 1980’s,
but was driven off after a coup (Radelet 51).
Recent news in The
Gambia, report the country as violating numerous human rights towards its
people (“Gambia”). President Yahya Jammeh, who succeeded
after the 1994 coup, is the current leader in The Gambia. He is a borderline dictator and surprisingly
enough, the East African Leader Index graded him as “Morgue” (“The East African”).
Jammeh has extensive military experience, having served as a Captain
with the Gambian Forces for 29 years (“The East African”). I say he is a borderline dictator because he
does, for the most part, provide for his people. He gave away 114 tractors to help with the
food production, allows elections, and has strong support from the people. Of course, as Radelet said, having a few
bullets from democracy does not make it a democracy. Elections have been criticized as being
rigged, and intimidating to the people (not wanting to vote him out due to some
fear of their future).
AllAfrica.com reports how Jammeh has been executing inmates
without justification, trials, and warnings (“Gambia”). However, with huge pressure from international
organizations the executions have been halted.
The Gambian government is notorious for making people disappear, silencing
the media, and other abuses without being held accountable (“Gambia”). I find it sad how some of Africa’s problems
have to be dealt with by external forces.
Yet, with the limiting government and intimidation put on the citizens
of The Gambia, little actions can be done on their end.
I chose this article because democracy is not done with one
thing only, as Radelet stated in his chapter.
This is a clear example of how a country which started with numerous
categories that set it up democratically, ended in the path which optimists hope
not to see. We should care about this
article, as it could happen to any country.
Democracy does not grow overnight.
It is a long and sometimes dangerous route for a nation to take, with
immediate failure at any turn. No
country is vulnerable, and those which claim to be democratic could fall to the
ruins of authoritarian regimes. It is up
to the people of any country to be active and participate in their
government. Without the continuous consent
of the people, then the continuing abuse by the government will prevail.
“Gambia: Stepping Up Pressure On Human Rights.” allAfrica
Sept. 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.
Radelet, Steven. Emerging
Africa. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. 2010.
Web.
"African Leader Index" by The East Africa (2012).
"African Leader Index" by The East Africa (2012).
I agree with you Emmanuel,democracy is a very complicated term. The New World Encyclopedia defines democracy as “the name given to a number of forms of government and procedures which have legitimacy because they have the consent of the people they govern.” If we underline “legitimacy” and “consent of the people” to be the key words, then these are not the only two ways to a well functioning government. Nations can achieve peace and development without taking the same democratic route. And most importantly one ought to take into account how the puzzle fit when African nations are taken into consideration. The western kind of democracy is not the best form of government for Africans. Therefore, the US and the international organization should not put a lot of pressure on to the Africans nations, because they can realistically not pursue the policy option with out the African themselves. During the pre-colonial times, Africans did not know anything about democracy or the ballot box. They lived in stateless societies and grouped in villages where no one was superior to the other. Although some people argue that democracy is the only way towards a prosperous nation, I think that there is a lot of things to be taken into considerations. Most African countries indeed lack a middle class that can hold politicians accountable hence the rampant corruption and growth inhibition. But an important note to take is that most African countries don’t have a middle class because politicians or governments don’t see a need to have one. They don’t need the taxes because they are resource rich and, or are well supplied with foreign aid. Everlasting regimes, revolutions and coups take place so often not so democratic governments can take over but so the eventual successor can have control over resources.
ReplyDeleteEmmanuel-
ReplyDeleteAn interesting linkage between what is happening in The Gambia and the need for multiple institutional improvements to consolidate democracy. I wonder why he is only a borderline dictator in your mind because of the provision of public goods. Cant a leader be fully authoritarian yet also provide for his/her people?
Moving forward, if the Western notion of democracy is failing in parts of Africa due the appeal of authoritarian exploitation, maybe the course of action necessary is to make democracy more marketable. The U.S. is obviously a successful model of the advantages of democracy but maybe a model unique to Africa is necessary to persuade authoritarian leaders to instill more health in their countries. If their motives are consistently selfish maybe authoritarian leaders need to face the disadvantages of their politics. I don't claim to have an end all solution but maybe the West could start by cutting off foreign aid directly to governments and investing more in local economies, giving their government incentive to build more infrastructure and invest simultaneously?
ReplyDelete