Managing Democratic Structures in Africa: The Way Forward
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Public Administration, University of Ilorin.
Abstract
The principle of democratic practice has never been alien to Africa even before the advent of colonialism. The name democratic practice presumes all manners of checks and balances. The advent of colonialism reshaped the traditional system of government (TSG), which is democratic in principle, so as to conform to the styles of colonial administration. At the demise of colonialism in Africa, the TSG powers had been reduced to mere peasantry and pedantry. Consequently, after independence, new order of government emerged which took to autocratic rule. Interestingly, the colonialist reintroduced the form of TSG back to Africa in an advanced system called Liberal Democracy. Therefore, this paper seeks to interrogate democracy in Africa and the existing institutions in the face of administrative letdown. The methodology adopted the afrobarometer database round six, 2015 to analyse the level of democracy in four selected states in Africa with selected institutions; the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the security sector. The democratic peace theory is used to reach a conclusion regarding failed democracy or institutions. This paper recommends an institutionalised democracy with integration of the principles of Africa TSG.
Description
Keywords
Democracy, Colonialism, Democratic Peace, Development.