PIA 2574Governance and the Failure

of the African State

Theme: Institutions and the “New” Africa

“An Editorial?”

Corny but…

Overview of Themes

1. Sovereignty

2. Debates About Democracy

3. Traditionalism

4. Institutionalism

5. Collapse

6. Reasons for Collapse

Sovereignty

The Primacy of the African Nation-State- How sovereign

a. Impact of trans-national actors

b. Issue of micro-states

c. Rational Actor model- public or social choice theory

Swaziland; 6,000 square milesPopulation, 1.1 million

The Primacy of the African Nation-State- How sovereign

d. Collective choice is it non-rational? Is it more than an aggregate of individuals?

e. The role of international regimes- UN, World Bank, IMF, etc. New International Order (NIO)

Governance and Sovereignty-

Rules of the Game politics: Zero/sum vs. sum/sum politics

"Splintering"- the break up of states- centrifugal forces

Interest Group Liberalism-how real?

Civil Society as organizational, not individual, or the mass.

Or the Leipzig Option (Mass Action)

Governance and Sovereignty-

The need for apathy?

Constitutional vs. social stability

Institutional structures and Checks and balances:

South African Political Poster

Debates about Democracy

Democracy: What is it?

Democracy and:

1. Governance

2. Local Government

3. Civil Society

Definitions of Democracy: Review

Presidential Systems- Separation of Powers

Parliamentary systems- Representation and Fusion

Traditional Africa- Consensus and hierarchy

Direct Democracy vs. Representative Democracy

Populism vs. Minority rights

Shifting majorities

Problem with

Plebiscites

Guinea 1958 “No” Vote

Review: James Madison and Democracy:

The problem with majorities

Tyranny

Factions

Types of Democracy

• Direct Democracy

• Indirect Democracy

• Pluralism vs. Polyarchy

• Civil Society

• Cooperative Movement

Democracy?

Definitions of Democracy in Africa

The First Issue: Opposition vs. Consensus

The Second Issue: “A Chief is a Chief by the People”

South Africa’s Parliament

Traditional Society and Democracy

Forms of Traditional Influence in Local Government

Grass Roots- traditional governance mechanisms governance in sub-Saharan Africa

The Answer or the Problem?

Defining Democracy

Village democracy and talking things out

Ubuntu, Ujamaa and Humanism

How Collective, How Market Friendly

Traditionalism

Ashante, Ghana

Ethnicity, Class and Religion

Contextual- intensification of ethnic identity- and the reverse

Ethnicity as Nationalism

Ethnicity and Class

Zulu Clan- Early 20th Century

How Chiefs Influence Governance

Continued influence and high status of those who hold “tribal” authority (Dyarchy)

Presence in high political and administrative positions of those who are descendents or relatives of traditional leaders

Status without official sanction but consists of party functionaries or bureaucrats

Forms of Traditional Influence on Local Level Governance

Bicameral- Traditional Elites represented in an Upper House

Unicameral- Preserved Traditional Seats in Legislature

Grassroots: Traditional Mechanisms of Governance at sub-district, area or village level

Zambia House of Chiefs

Forms of Traditional Influence on Local Level Governance

Full Meetings (Town Hall Style) Consensus by Direct Democracy

Pure Traditional Representation- Traditional Councils (Appointed)

Partial- Councils which are half elected and half traditional

GIS trainer Kent Burger with Tawana Botswana Land Board participants

Forms of Traditional Influence on Local Level Governance Technical and Deconcentrated Boards.

Department heads and Traditional Representatives

Specialized through the Traditional judicial Function

Triangular-2 traditional, 2 elected councilors and two appointed by central government (eg. Land Boards)

Traditional Elites

Inherited States failed to deal with Traditional Leadership

Continuing Influence of Traditional Elites regardless of formal standing and regime type

Tanganyika Chiefs 1961

Traditional Leadership in Tanzania

Tanzania Abolishes Chiefs in 1960s

Study of Political Party Activists (Norman Miller)

Many activists are former traditional elites or relatives of chiefs and sub-chiefs

Traditional Leadership in Tanzania

Informally the Party remained highly dependent upon traditional leaders on an informal basis

Traditional political values still socialize people (both in urban and rural areas)

Party informally accepts traditional roles as long as it give loyalty to the party

Zimbabwe Traditional Leaders

Traditional Influence-Review

1. Full Meeting (Town Hall style)- Direct Democracy

2. Pure Form- Traditional Councils (Appointed)

3. Partial- Half Elected/Half Traditional 4. Technical- deconcentrated.

Department heads and Traditional (No Elections

Traditional Influence

5. Specialized- Judicial Function

6. Specialized Partial- Land Board (2 Trad., 2 LG, 2 Cen. Gov.)

7. Bicameral- Traditional as an upper house

African Justice?

Brief Discussion

So What about Traditionalism?

Ten Minute Break

Remember Purposeful Penny Coffee: 8:30-12:30 Monday-Friday

Institutionalism

THE INSTITUTIONAL STATE

What is the "Institutional State?“

Why is it important?

The importance of political institutions

Rules and processes (formal and informal) are essential

The Institutional State:

Civil Society

Institutionalized

Norms

Stable Government

The Institutional State:

Permanent Government: The Administrative apparatus

Goal: Muted Cultural Differences

Defining Bureaucracy- the permanent government

The Institutional State

Institutionalized Norms and Rules

Diverse and Representative Civil Society

Stable Government Structures

Muted Cultural Differences

Elinor Ostrom

The Institutional State

Decentralized (Devolved) Government Structures

Effective Permanent Government (The Administrative Apparatus)

Middle Class Social Compact

Incorporate Traditional Governance

Collapse

The Current Image

The Institutional State: The Reality

Breakdown of Governance

Bureaucracy and

Corruption

Military Coups

The Institutional State: The Reality

Self Serving Bureaucrats

Bureaucratic Elites

Civil War-Violence: Inter-state Conflict and African Development

Reasons for Collapse

Explanations

1. Ethnicity

2. Ideology

3. Military

4. Colonial Borders

5. Institutional Neglect

6. International Issues

Ethnicity: Congo Wars

Ethnicity, Class and ReligionTheories of Ethnicity: Review

Primordialism

Ethnicity and Religion

cultural sub-nationalism

Changing Context

Ghana

Martin Staniland, The Lions of Dagbon: Political Change in Northern Ghana (London: Cambridge University Press, 1975)

Ideology: How Important

African regimes regardless of ideology are state centric

Skimmed public resources

Extensive corruption

Irrelevance of Ideology

Patriarchal leadership

Organizational elites

Collapse of the social contract with the state centered middle class

South Africa 2008

The Viability of ColonialBorders

System collapse in central Africa, 1990-2004

Invading armies: Uganda, Rwanda, Namibia and Zimbabwe

5.4 Million Deaths in Congo. Africa’s World War

Somali Refugees

The Military: How Important?

The Ivory Coast Model: Triumph and Tragedy Geography and Ethnicity

North- Muslim, Mande;

South: East, Akan, Christian; West, Kru, links with Liberia and Guinea

The Ivory Coast Miracle

The death of the Founding President: Felix Houphouet Boigny

Tragedy in West Africa

New York Times: The next “state collapse in Africa” Ivory Coast- Has it?

Ghana’s North?

Assassination and tension in Dagbon

The next Crisis can happen anywhere

Africa’s RealityBreakdown of Governance

Corruption

Military Coups and Authoritarianism

Self Serving Bureaucrats

Bureaucratic Elites

State Debt

Above all the problem of the Zero-Sum Game. The Inability to Compromise

Military Intervention: narrow, ethnic interests or military regimes, 1970s-1990s

Uganda: Obote, Amin and Museveni

Zaire: Mobutu and “Big Manism”

Somalia, Ethiopia: Totalitarianism and Anarchy

Liberia and Sierra Leone: militarized ethnicity and Child Soldiers

Uganda Letter

Uganda Letter Page 2

Institutional Negelct: Rules and Institutions

Balance between mobilization and political institutions

Samuel P. Huntington

The Failure of Institutional Development

Problem of Inherited Institutions Mobilization- High, Institutionalization

Low

Failure of political institutions

Military- failure to contain political demands

Rules and Institutions

Adaptability rather than rigidity

Complexity rather than simple

Coherence rather than disunity

Devolution and autonomy rather than subordinate state structures

Congo

Abandonment of Africa by the international community

Problem of “race” and racial sensitivity

Perception of “primordial tribalism” in Africa- Violence and starvation since independence

Donor fatigue: Debt and the End of the Cold War

Foreigners as Invaders: “Tarzan [is still] an Expatriate?”

International Community?

International Neglect and Collapse of the African International System

Lack of interest of international community

Civil War-Violence, Inter-state Conflict and African Development

Libya- Only concern: The Oil?

Discussion

Should Zapiro be contained?

Note: So Called “Adult Content”

Issues to be Discussed Next Two Slides

Discussion: How can the African crisis be addressed?

How do we assess the role of the media? Should CNN be banned in Africa?

What argument do our authors make about the nature of the African crisis? Critique them

What picture of Northern influence over African states does the reading give us?

At Issue

Primacy of democratic governance or “contained political structures”

Discussion: Is this important?