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).
