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Democratization in Africa African Views, African Voices (1992) / Chapter Skim
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Conclusion: Role of Africans in the Democratiztion Process
Pages 74-78

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From page 74...
... Participants acknowledged the crucial role Africans have to play in making the democracy movement continue, gain strength, or weaken. As has been noted throughout this report, external support in the right directions can help to ease the pain of transition to democracy, but the role played by Africans themselves is what is important in sustaining and consolidating it.
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From page 75...
... One participant took exception to this suggestion and argued, "The few country examples just mentioned proves that we find success stories only in the small states where there is no problem of communication, and in European countries, democracy prevailed only when these countries reached a certain economic level.... I am worried because it seems to me the fundamental requirement is economic because democracy is most of all a matter of decentralization and participation, but decentralization and participation require communication, means of communication so that everybody can talk to each other, know each other and there is a free flow of information on every side....
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From page 76...
... Although the issues threatening democracy in Africa and the disagreements among participants on how to tackle them have been discussed throughout this report, it is important in these concluding pages to highlight major differences in approaches, which stem from the fact that there is no single established method of tackling these issues. The methods used to address such problems as the role of the military, replacing dictators, the number of political parties, managing ethnicity, and the appropriate role of donors will vary from country to country, depending on the degree of significance placed on them by the individual countries.
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From page 77...
... Another area of major disagreement by participants had to do with the role, number, and financing of political parties in African countries. A1though in the Benin workshop a participant from Nigeria explained the rationale behind the adoption of the open-ballot system and the imposition of only two parties in his country, other participants were not convinced that it was the best method of minimizing electoral fraud and political fragmentation.
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From page 78...
... Having helped to establish such governments, external powers have a minimal obligation not to destabilize them, and a broader obligation to help democratic governments achieve the popular aspirations, without which democracy will surely fail."
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Key Terms

  • external powers
  • democratic governments
  • political parties
  • individual countries
  • success stories

  • electoral fraud
  • installing democracy
  • draw lessons
  • issues threatening
  • common device

  • views regarding
  • communicate freely
  • positive results
  • suggestion disagreed
  • examine democratic

  • reach consensus
  • free flow
  • spread democratic
  • participation require
  • political fragmentation

  • highlight major
  • established method
  • concrete democratic
  • latin america
  • unconstitutional means

  • surely fail
  • gain strength
  • external forces
  • minimal obligation
  • civilian control


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