State constitution, political transformation and governance in Africa [Elektronische Ressource] : a failure-success continuum with illustrations from Benin, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo / by Joy Asongazoh Alemazung

Joy Bousquet

Informations

• Publié par: christian-albrechts-universitat_zu_kiel
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 23
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

Extrait

Faculty of Philosophy
Department of Social Sciences
STATE CONSTITUTION, POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION AND
GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA
A FAILURE-SUCCESS CONTINUUM WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM BENIN,
CAMEROON AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
By
Joy Asongazoh Alemazung, M.A.

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)




Abgabe der Dissertation: Oktober 2008
Tag der mündlichen Prüfung 16. Januar 2009

1. Gutachter Prof. Dr. Johannes Varwick
2. Gutachter Prof Dr. Cord Jakobeit
Durch die Prodekanin, Prof. Dr Anja Pistor-Hatam zum Druck genehmigt am: 8. Dezember
2009

© Universität zu Kiel

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ____________________________________________________ i
General Introduction __________________________________________________ 5
Statement of purpose and aim _________________________________________________________ 5
Further research questions and hypothesis________________________________________________ 8
Outline of the research project _______________________________________________________ 16
Case study nations: An introduction ___________________________________________________ 21
Methods, methodology and approach __________________________________________________ 23

Chapter one: Social Contract Theories and the raison d’être of Governments_____ 29
1.1 Social contracts and governments _________________________________________ 32
2.1.1 John Locke and the establishment of government_____________________________________ 34
1.1.2 Charles de Montesquieu and the further division of power ______________________________ 37
1.1.3 Rousseau: participation, sovereignty and common will ________________________________ 40
1.1.4. Political power and authority: A brief analysis ______________________________________ 42
1.2 States and governments: The African social contract _________________________ 43
1.2.1 African government: preserver of life, liberty and property?_____________________________ 49
1.2.2 Politics, states without statesmen, worthless and harmful governments ____________________ 54
1.3 …and what happens when the government fails _____________________________ 59
1.4 Summary _____________________________________________________________ 63

Chapter Two: Democracy, Democratization and Governance__________________ 65
2.1. The concept of democracy_______________________________________________ 66
2.1.1. Elections and participation: imperative dimensions of democracy________________________ 70
2.1.2 Forms of democracy and “regionalisation” of democracy_______________________________ 76
2.2 Democratization, Democracy and Consolidation_______________________________________ 79
2.2.1 The waves of democratization ___________________________________________________ 84
2.2.2 The second wave in Africa: First winds of change ____________________________________ 85
2.2.3 The Third Wave reaches Africa: causes and forms____________________________________ 86
2.2.4 Problems with adjective democracies ______________________________________________ 92
2.3 Democratic constitutions and institutions in Africa ___________________________ 95
2.3.1 Constitutional democratic governance: institutions matter ______________________________ 96
2.3.2 Government and the process of governance ________________________________________ 100
2.3.3 Governance crisis and the introduction to Good Governance ___________________________ 103
2.4 Power abuse: democracy versus autocracy_________________________________ 106

2.5 Summary ____________________________________________________________ 110

Chapter three: Political Transformations since Independence The false start and
Governance Problems _______________________________________________ 113
3.1 From dependence to post-independence state-building _______________________ 114
3.1.1 Africa before independence and then colonization ___________________________________ 114
3.1.2 Independence struggle and the birth of nations ______________________________________ 118
3.1.3 The challenges of nation-state building: The beginning of failure ________________________ 122
3.1.4 The reverse wave: Consolidating the failure course___________________________________ 129
3.1.5 Failure and emergence of worthless and harmful polities ______________________________ 134
3.1.6 The irrelevance of the social contract to Africa ______________________________________ 137
3.2 Between failure and success in state governance: The continuum_______________ 139
3.2.1 The success-failure continuum: Variables and indicators ______________________________ 140
3.2.2 The success story: Benin’s example ______________________________________________ 146
3.2.3 Middling performers: Cameroon’s example ________________________________________ 148
3.2.4 The unsuccessful cases: DRC example ____________________________________________ 149
3.3 Summary ____________________________________________________________ 150

Chapter four: National and International factors influencing African Politics __ 153
4.1 National factors _______________________________________________________ 155
4.1.1 Ethnic divisions, tribalism and neo-patrimonialism___________________________________ 156
4.1.2. African leadership flaws and fallibility____________________________________________ 160
4.1.3 Traditional versus civil societies: Between traditional and modern polity __________________ 166
4.1.4 Political culture/mentality: In need of political socialization ____________________________ 173
4.2 International factors ___________________________________________________ 176
4.2.1 Colonial impact and legacy_____________________________________________________ 177
4.2.2 Neo-colonialism: clients and European patrons______________________________________ 182
4.2.3 Economic interest, conditioned aid, cold war and consequences _________________________ 184
4.3. Africa and continental governance _______________________________________ 189
4.3.1 The OAU and governance in post-independent Africa ________________________________ 190
4.3.2 From OUA to AU: NEPAD and APRM __________________________________________ 193
4.4 Summary ____________________________________________________________ 198

Chapter five: Empirical Case Studies: Benin, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) ______________________________________________________ 201
5.1. Republic of Benin _____________________________________________________ 205
5.1.1. Independence, state constitution and failures _______________________________________ 206
5.1.2 The reverse wave and failed governance___________________________________________ 209
5.1.3 The second liberation and the success of re-constitution _______________________________ 211

5.1.4 Reconstitution, successful transition and consolidation________________________________ 213
5.2. (Federal/United) Republic of Cameroon __________________________________ 215
5.2.1. Independence, state constitutions and failures ______________________________________ 219
5.2.2 The reverse wave and failed governance __________________________________________ 221
5.2.3 The second liberation: Non-reconstitution and transition failure_________________________ 225
5.2.4 Dynamics of failures: ethnic divisions, clientelism and the Anglophone problem____________ 228
5.2.4 Success, a farfetched dream? ___________________________________________________ 233
5.3 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ____________________________________ 236
5.3.1. Independence, state constitution and government failures _____________________________ 238
5.3.2. The reverse wave, harmful government and kleptocracy ______________________________ 240
5.3.2 The second liberation: Non-reconstitution and failed transition _________________________ 242
5.3.3 The still another attempt and the late reconstitution!__________________________________ 244
5.4 Similarities and differences within the case study nations _______________________________ 246
5.5 Summary ____________________________________________________________ 251

Chapter Six: Conclusions and Propositions_______________________________ 253
6.1 Concluding analysis ___________________________________________________ 255
6.2 Propositions and future perspectives _______________________________________________ 262

7 APPENDIXES ____________________________________________________ 268

8 References _______________________________________________________ 285
















List of figures

Figure 1.1 the state, government and some major factors influencing them ..............................10
Figure 2.1 Life, liberty and property..................................................................................................52
Figure 3.1 the transition route of a democratization process.........................................................80
Figure 4.1 Western support for tyrant rulers: Mobutu and Bokassa ..........................................187



List of tables

Table 1.1 Institutions and indicators used in measuring successful states.......