Authoritarian Rule and Democracy in Africa: A Theoretical Discourse

eforms and devaluation, some governments have tried to mobilize the rural groups to counterthe political weight of the organized urban sector (Gyimah-Boadi, 1989), but the response sofar has been lukewarm. Peasants remain sceptical of crucial aspects of the reforms such asfluctuations in prices, the withdrawal of subsidies from farm inputs, escalating costs ofproduction, and general levels of inflation that affect their consumption of traded goods.Struggles to protect living standards in the context of crisis and adjustment tend to take on ademocratic character. Organized groups demand the institutionalization of collectivebargaining, the independence of unions and associations and respect for the rule of law andcivil liberties. These are considered to be critical for holding employers and state authoritiesaccountable for their economic policies. Social movements are emboldened by the collapse ofthe post-colonial social contract and growth rates to press for the reconstitution of therelationship between the state and civil society. Repressive policies to support theimplementation of adjustment programmes have not been effective in controlling dissent.Military and one-party forms of rule have come under increasing opposition from organizedgroups and individuals. Co-opted unions and associations agitate for organizational autonomyfrom established parties and governments to defend the declining welfare of their members(the Congo, Zambia). Current developments seem to contradict the predictions of neo-liberaltheory which expects the business class to play a leading role in democratization (Diamond,1988). The market reforms, it is argued, will liberate the enterprising potentials of thebusiness groups and encourage them to opt for more democratic modes of government.Although some business groups and organizations have sided with the popular groups indemanding the reintroduction of multi-party rule in such countries as Benin, Kenya, andZambia, most of the demonstrations for democracy have been organized by opposition groupsand parties with traditional sympathies for the aspirations of the poor. Even those who havejoined the pro-democracy movement from the top have done so in the context of advancingthe general interests of the populace and advocating for development programmes that wouldprotect the poor and vulnerable sections of society. Contrary to neo-liberal formulations,democratization is seen by the majority of dissident groups as an instrument for obstructingstructural adjustment and protecting some of the gains in public welfare and living standardsthreatened by the reforms. A number of military and one-party régimes have come underconsiderable pressure to initiate programmes for transitions to multi-party rule. Indeed, partlyencouraged by the experiences in Eastern Europe, there has been an intense debate for multipartydemocracy in most African countries. The link between alternative strategies ofdevelopment and democracy has featured in most of these debates. Some governments, suchas Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Mozambique, Zaire and Zambia, have even been forced toinitiate plans for transitions to multi-party rule. Other régimes like those of Kenya and SierraLeone have not conceded much ground to the opposition groups. Similarly, struggles in theexisting democracies of the Gambia, Senegal and Zimbabwe have focused on the question ofcurtailing the post-colonial dominance of the ruling parties and extending the social content ofdemocracy (Bathily, 1989; Moyo, 1989).The next section examines the politics of transition from authoritarian military rule todemocracy. Issues relating to democratization are different from those of sustainabledemocracy. Sustainability, as we have seen, deals with a complex of economic, social andpolitical factors which may profoundly influence the orientation and character ofdemocratization. Democratization is, however, explicitly political. It concerns the processesof liberalization in the key areas of political life, viz. the demilitarization of the stateapparatus; the strengthening of civil society and its institutions; and the democratization of therules of economic and political competition. The nature of the links between civil andpolitical society occupies a central position in the dynamics and regulation ofdemocratization. I discuss these issues against the background of the Nigerian experience.20