Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals (Dec 2001)
Democratic consolidation in sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract
The contributions made by theory on democratic consolidation in Eastern Europe are also pertinent to analysis of processes of democratization and democratic consolidation in other areas, such as sub-Saharan Africa. The parameters of analysis highlight the importance of a strong state (organized, with legitimated institutions) and a structured society (whether multiethnic or not) as necessary conditions for democratization. On the assumption that the colonizing powers basically used two models –the French assimilationist model and the British indirect government model– the study of how these conditions were fulfilled in various sub-Saharan states leads to two conclusions: the first, the possibility of a process of democratization in those states where European (French) colonization produced a total assimilation of the colonized society, including above all the colonizer’s political values; and the second, the possibility of processes of democratization in states produced by British colonization where the indigenous structures and those of the metropolis were superimposed, a phenomenon which allowed the application of democratic values by legitimated local institutions.
