africa

11. Democratic Governance
in Africa: Misconceptions
and Opportunities
Leonard Wantchekon
Princeton University
Africa has more diversity in regime types than any other continent. Whereas Asia
has mostly autocratic governments and South and North America are generally
democratic, Africa is in between Asia and Latin America in terms of the level of
democracy. Yet why does democracy matter at all, when development is our focus?
Because according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen (1999),
freedoms are not only the primary ends of development, but also among its primary
means. It is thus not surprising that democratic reforms are widely perceived
as a critical solution for the problem of government challenge—and accordingly,
development—in Africa.
11.1 Myths and misconceptions
Before proceeding, there are a number of misconceptions about democracy in Africa
that must be addressed. The first concerns its public support, as there is a myth
that public support for democracy is weak in Africa. Simply put, this is not true. In
fact, according to the 2011 Afrobarometer conducted in 35 countries 1 , nearly 75
percent of Africans are quite supportive of democracy and define democracy in
liberal terms.
There is also a myth about an alleged urban/rural divide in support for democracy.
This is also not true, as the data show that support for democracy is equally robust
181