Ken, we've had this debate before and I don't want to resurrect it but I think that you're always misrepresenting the contention of those you disagree with on this particular issue. You say "democracy" and those you critique say "Western liberal, winner-takes-all democracy." Are those two the same? is there one kind of democracy? Isn't much of Africa practicing either the presidential or Westminster brand of democracy that are copied from the West--in fact bequeathed by departing colonialists and/or copied from them thereafter? Of course, precolonial African history supplies examples of democratic traditions (as well as non-democratic traditions), but in all my reading on precolonial African societies and states, I've yet to see examples of the kind of liberal winner-takes-all one-man-one-vote democracy that is now practised across the continent. No one is suggesting an atavistic, romantic return to the political model of precolonial Africa, but what about crafting something that is more faithful and more in tune with the political, economic, and social circumstances of these countries, won't bankrupt them, and would exacerbate existing fissures? You invoked Egypt. You can add Benin, Nigeria, Kenya, and most African countries, where the fight for democracy was structured by Western liberal ideals (including neoliberal prescriptions of economic and political liberalization) and nurtured by Western money and pressure. So we do know how and when that model became diffused in Africa. Without those elements, it is probable that the widespread African disillusionment with autocracy and dictatorships would have crystallized in a quest for a home-grown model of democracy, not in a clamour for a mimic brand. To the extent that African elites and some its peoples have, for good or bad, internalized the Western model and have bought into its universality, their democratic agitations are now founded on and shaped by it. That's what Egypt and Benin and Nigeria, etc tell us. To read them otherwise is to participate in the problematic and costly universalization of the Western democratic model. To acknowledge that the Western model is now the default aspirational system in Africa does not mean that we should ignore that it is literally killing our people, causing war and ethnic strife, encouraging massive, democratized corruption, and that its electoral rituals and institutional maintenance costs are gulping an astronomical portion of the GDP. In the light of all these, it is in fact insensitive to dismiss questions about whether Western liberal winner-takes-all democracy is the right model for African countries and whether it would not be better for African countries to abandon it and craft their own pragmatic models that speak and attend to their peculiarities, fissures, and economic realities. To not broach that question or to brush it aside when it is raised, in spite of all that we know about the tragedy of Western liberal democracy in Africa, is irresponsible in my opinion. We can acknowledge the validity of this question and debate and still hold sit tight incumbents accountable when they lose elections. We don't have to abandon the rules or allow crazy incumbents to circumvent the existing system/rules in order to have the debate about our broader democratic culture. We can walk and chew at the same time.
On Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 2:57 PM, kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu> wrote:
dear all
as for democracy, the notion that it is somehow a foreign imposition on africa strikes me as a retrograde, empty notion. as i watch the images of the brave peope in egypt, i think we need to call for intellectual commitment to the cause they are risking their lives for.
it isn't anything "western." the west doesn't "own" justice or freedom or systems that value the person. the west has oppressed and slaughtered enough already, and it isn't a question of a regional failing or an innate one. there is no superior system at stake, invented here or there, that requires emulation.
there are basic concepts that we all on earth, everywhere, understand perfectly well, and if we had the courage would fight for. there are also concepts to be opposed such as oppression and injustice. can't we all see that the very rich enjoy lives at the expense of the very poor? not just in africa! there is a greater discrepancy between rich and poor in the u.s. than most places on earth, including africa.
what "western" or "african" system do we need to fight for justice? just our human values.
the same is true for democracy. i find despicable arguments that justify the subordination of a people and justify the elevation of another. it isn't "western" or "african" to call for a political order where we all have a voice, a vote.
there are several ways to organize this: a representative system could be winner take all; but it doesn't have to be. the parliamentary system has worked with proportionate representation: everyone is a winner there, though the larger winners get a stronger role in the govt. how else would you have it?
can you imagine we are to emulate a society from the past, living in ways that have nothing to do with today's states or urban environments, or villages. we live today. we need systems that are responsive to our lives today, and that count each of us equally. after that, you can make your distinctions on how to do this.
i want us to imagine ourselves in tahrir square: we want the tyrant out, we want decent lives and a govt that doesn't throw us in prison and torture us. let's start with basic principles of decent society, and forget about who is supposed to claim credit for inventing decency.
kenkenneth w. harrow
On 2/5/11 1:54 AM, Anunoby, Ogugua wrote:
"This democracy, which leaves out a whole lot of the people who 'lose' the 'elections' may
not be optimal multi-tribal, multi-clan, multi-state systems that constitute modern African states"'
km
Multi-party/candidate democratic elections are contest that produce winners and losers. Candidates that contest these elections in good faith know to accept the verdict of the electorate if the elections pass the general "smell" test. Democratic elections' outcomes therefore imply that a whole lot of people (usually a minority of people) may be left out until the next elections when all that may change.
African countries challenges in the practice of modern democratic governance are not as much the result of the diversity of their constituent parts as they are because of ethnic chauvinism, the failure of governance, and the opportunism of politicians who choose to play the ethnic/religion card to gain/retain political power. Very few countries in the world are homogeneous. Somalia generally is, by ethnicity and religion but she is more political fragmented than most other African countries. Zimbabwe has two major ethnic groups and she is by most accounts a failed state. Many African political leaders accentuate their countries' population difference for short-term political gain. China, India, and Malaysia are not homogeneous countries. Their leaders have nevertheless, succeeded for the most in crafting countries that citizens accept as theirs and therefore countries that work. The countries have consequently made and continue to make great development leaps that citizens are proud of, right before our eyes. I believe you mean well when you said "my Akan language" for example. Why not one of Ghana's languages instead?
What ever Gbagbo's incentives, motivations, and objectives are, there is now no doubt that he is assiduously and fervently determined to destroy his country. His proclaimed patriotism is consequently doubtful. He has been president of his country for ten years. For five of those years, he was an unelected president. Why should he continue as president of his country after an externally funded election that he accepted to participate in, and declared to have lost. He is said to be a former professor of history and an expert on the French revolution. If the above are true, one must conclude that while he may have passed through history, history has definitely not passed through him. As a result of his own choice, his scholastic accomplishments are presently not yielding dividends in his "service" to his country. he has become a costly and heavy burden and scourge to his country, continent, and race.
oa
________________________________________
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mensah, Edward K. [dehasnem@uic.edu]
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 6:29 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Please Leave Gbagbo Alone
Ikhide, Thanks you very much. Like they say in my Akan language, mo neka,
meaning, thanks for saying it. I have said it many times in this forum
that the problem is bigger than overthrowing one African (mis)ruler.
I am sure that the historians among us know that the ancient African
kigdoms were not ruled by a winner-takes-all 'democracy'. This democracy,
which leaves out a whole lot of the people who 'lose' the 'elections' may
not be optimal for multi-tribal, multi-clan, multi-state systems that
constitute modern African states. A bit of thinking can help us design a
more appropriate system.
The only certaintly after any African 'election' is a mass rebellion. Why
can't we see that this system we imported from our colonial masters is
causing more problems than the original problem it is supposed to
address-- the allocation of political power among the competing interests?
Kwaku Mensah, PhD
Chicago
On Thu, February 3, 2011 8:48 am, Ikhide wrote:
Folks,
Gbagbo is a jerk. Like practically every other misruler in Black Africa. I
get
that. But why is the world picking on him? Are we not yelling at the
symptoms of
a larger problem? Democracy as practiced in Black Africa today has been a
plague
on a truly dispossessed people, perhaps worse than the scourge of AIDS.
This
"democracy" was imported willy-nilly by our leaders, political and
intellectual,
the new masters of mimicry. The last time I checked Gbagbo is an
intellectual.
We are asking for external forces to be massed against Ivory Coast because
it is
a small country. That is just not right. Are there no other options to
deal with
this matter?
If the soldiers take over from the resident termites in Aso Rock would the
AU
similarly mass soldiers against Nigeria? Why not send soldiers after
Mubarak in
Egypt? What about North Korea? What are we doing? Let me be blunt: Every
day I
wake up and pray for the end of whatever they are calling the yeye
government in
Nigeria. I will not cry in my beer if monkeys overthrow those assholes in
power.
Please leave Gbagbo alone. Our problems are worse than merely unseating an
asshole with a PhD. This democracy is not working for us. It is actually
killing
us.
- Ikhide
________________________________
From: Abdul Bangura<theai@earthlink.net>
To: "USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com"
<USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
Cc: leonenet<leonenet@lists.umbc.edu>
Sent: Wed, February 2, 2011 12:48:05 PM
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - War Criminal And Pervert Gbagbo
Tells AU
To Go To Hell
I hope that the African (Dis)Union can finally get out of the way of
ECOWAS to
fulfill his mandate. Thank you, War Criminal and Pervert Gbagbo, for
helping the
AU see its folly.
AU Mission in Ivory Coast Encounters Obstacles
Scott Stearns | Dakar February 02, 2011
Photo: AP
Ivory Coast Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, attends a media conference at
the
Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, January 30, 2011.
The prime minister for the U.N.-certified winner of Ivory Coast's
presidential
election says African Union mediation is the last chance for a peaceful
resolution of the political crisis. The incumbent government says it will
not
accept any mediation that challenges the president's re-election.
The African Union's latest effort to resolve the political crisis in Ivory
Coast
is having problems before it gets started.
Members of the heads-of-state panel differ over the possible use of force
to
remove incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo supporters oppose the
inclusion of the Burkina Faso president on the panel because he is an ally
of
Gbagbo's rival, Alassane Ouattara.
Gbagbo's foreign minister says his government will not accept any finding
that
questions the legitimacy of the constitutional council annulling nearly 10
percent of all ballots cast, which made Gbagbo the winner.
Ivory Coast's Electoral Commission and the United Nations say results
shows
Ouattara winning, even if most of the contested votes are thrown out.
Ouattara's prime minister, Guillaume Soro, says the African Union mission
is the
last chance for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Soro says the five heads of state will go to Ivory Coast to ask the
elected
president to explain the guarantees he will offer to the losing president.
Soro
says Ouattara has promised if Gbagbo agrees to leave power, Ouattara will
accord
him the status of a former president with all of its privileges.
Having served as Gbagbo's prime minister for more than three years, Soro
told
VOA that he does not expect the incumbent president will abide by the
decision
of the African Union, because the alliance already recognizes Ouattara.
"AU recognized Alassane Ouattara as the elected president of Cote
d'Ivoire," he
said. "And I think that it is a victory for democracy in Cote d'Ivoire.
It is a
victory of the people of Cote d'Ivoire."
Human Rights Watch says Gbagbo allies are killing and raping Ouattara
supporters
in post-election violence. The United Nations says peacekeepers are being
blocked from suspected mass grave sites.
Soro says those responsible for that violence must be brought to justice.
"The struggle for freedom and the fight for democracy is not easy," he
said. "In
the history of our continent, the struggle for freedom generally generates
crimes and killings and everything."
Both of Ivory Coast's competing governments went into the African Union
summit
hoping for decisive action against their rival. Instead, they got a panel
of
heads of state. Soro says he is not disappointed.
"No, no, no. I am not disappointed. I am a fighter," said Soro. "When
you
fight for democracy you can not be disappointed."
The leaders of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, South Africa, and Tanzania
make
up the African Union panel. They met Monday to outline their strategy and
must
now decide when to visit Abidjan and how to approach the country's rival
presidents.--
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michigan state university
department of english
east lansing, mi 48824-1036
ph. 517 803 8839
harrow@msu.edu
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