This book is a fascinating exploration of public opinion in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on the Afrobarometer, a comprehensive cross-national survey research project, it reveals what ordinary Africans ...think about democracy and market reform, subjects on which almost nothing is otherwise known. The authors find that support for democracy in Africa is wide but shallow and that Africans feel trapped between state and market. Beyond multiparty elections, people want clean and accountable government. They will accept economic structural adjustment only if it is accompanied by an effective state, the availability of jobs, and an equitable society. What are the origins of these attitudes? Far from being constrained by social structure and cultural values, Africans learn about reform on the basis of knowledge, reasoning, and experience. Weighing supply and demand for reform, the authors reach cautious conclusions about the varying prospects of African countries for attaining fully-fledged democracy and markets.0
Constituencies for reform in Ghana Bratton, Michael; Lewis, Peter; Gyimah-Boadi, E
The Journal of modern African studies,
06/2001, Volume:
39, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The attitudes of ordinary people in Africa towards the liberalisation of politics and economies are not well known. Are there popular constituencies for reform? Which specific reform measures do ...different social groups accept or reject? And does popular support for structural adjustment, if any, go together with support for democracy? In an effort to find answers, this article reports results of a national sample survey in Ghana conducted in July 1999 as part of the Afrobarometer. The survey finds that the constituency for democracy is broader than the constituency for market reform, which is concentrated among educated male elites. In addition, while most Ghanaians are patient with democracy and want to retain this political regime, most Ghanaians are fatigued with adjustment and want the government to ‘change its policies now’. Given this distribution of popular preferences, one can surmise that democracy will be easier to consolidate than a market-based economy.
Ghana’s experience since the early 1990s indicates that external aid can significantly impact a country’s democratic transition. External democracy assistance has been a crucial, positive factor in ...Ghana’s steady evolution into an electoral democracy over the past two decades. Continuing gaps in the quality of Ghana’s democracy confirms, however, that even sustained external support and encouragement cannot easily overcome local elite resistance to specific reforms as well as structural and cultural obstacles prevailing in the domestic environment, at least in the short and medium terms.
Ghana?s experience since the early 1990s indicates that external aid can significantly impact a country?s democratic transition. External democracy assistance has been a crucial, positive factor in ...Ghana?s steady evolution into an electoral democracy over
Recent coups in Africa have raised concerns about the future of democratic governance on the continent. While military rule has become popular in some countries, it is not inevitable or irreversible. ...Many of these coups are driven by self-seeking soldiers and adventurers exploiting popular resentment against neocolonial exploitation. Violent extremism and jihadist insurgencies also contribute to the instability, particularly in the Sahel, Horn of Africa, and parts of Central Africa. External forces like Russia exacerbate this instability for their own interests. Unfortunately, autocratic rule, both civilian and military, is also on the rise. These coups often occur in response to the misdeeds of democratically elected leaders, such as election manipulation, corruption, and human rights abuses. Support for democratic governance is slipping as the supply of democratic dividends lags. It is crucial to restore faith in the benefits of democracy and support pro-democracy and accountable governance reformers. Lessons should be learned from past collaborations between Western nations, international finance institutions, African governments, civil society, and regional bodies to promote democratic governance. Security and development initiatives must address the underlying gaps in democracy and accountable governance, involving African civil society and the private sector for program accountability and sustainability.
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