Africa quarterly special on emerging powers.pdf - SAFPI

P O L I T I C A L R E F O R M SSecuring <strong>Africa</strong>’sTRANSFORMATIONIndia can play a leadership role in spurring <strong>Africa</strong>’smetamorphosis by helping to deepen and institutionalise governancereforms in the continent, thereby encouraging positive changes in theirdemocratisation process, say Paul Musili Wambua and Mumo NzauExternal Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna and Ethiopian Minister for Finance and Economic Development Sufian Ahmed exchanging the DoubleTaxation Avoidance Agreement at Addis Ababa on May 25, 2011. India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also seen.Democratisation refers to the processby which states move towards moredemocratic structures, actors andprocesses. Nonetheless, an assessmentof democratisation sometimeswould have to rely on the conceptionof democracy itself. Most conceptionsof democracy are based onthe principle of “government by the people”. This impliesthat, in effect, people govern themselves; that they participatein making the crucial decisions thatstructure their lives and determine the fate of their society.Such participation can take a number of forms ranging fromdirect and continuous involvement in decision-makingthrough referenda and mass-meetings to active involvementthrough mass media. The alternative to this kind ofdemocracy is one that is representative, mainly operationalisedthrough the process of voting. Voting and electioneering processesaim at selecting public office holders and giving themthe mandate to decide on policy and implement such policieson behalf of the people and in accordance with law as stipulatedin constitutions (Burnell P and Calvert P, 1999).Today, many sitting governments around <strong>Africa</strong> arehighly compromised due to the low degree of legitimacythey actually enjoy among the populace. It was notsurprising that due to this state of things many presidential42August 2011-January 2012