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Introduction
When philosophers and scholars began writing their works some of them argued that authoritarian forms of government were key in bringing up and enhancing fast developing countries. Some argued that dictatorial governments played a very important role in enhancing and maintaining the economic growth. Today, however, the political mantra is democratic governments in most states, all over the world.
Summary
Rita Abrahamsen in her book; DISCIPLINING DEMOCRACY ,uses the example of good governance discourse to help us understand development not as some set goals but , “a historically well-known form of knowledge connected to some existing structures and relations of power”. She argues that the development discourse helps reproduce a world order that is undemocratic in some sort of way. Rita Abrahamsen in her book thoughtfully discusses the issue of democracy and good governance in Africa. The book reflects and comments and reflects on contemporary development in Africa by using a case study of four African countries in the sub Saharan Africa .These countries include ;Kenya, Zambia ,Cote d’ivoire and Ghana. According to Rita Abrahamsen, “it is important to note that this countries are not used because they represent Africa but because democratization is an issue that is influential across the African continents despite of the cultural, economic, political, social and geographical divide.”
Rita Abrahamsen argues that the good governance agenda emerged in the early 1990s and with it came the multiparty democracy in African states. The issue of good governance and democracy may have therefore placed Africa at the center of the development discourse where the writer states that western donors and organizations such as the World Bank view democratic government as a condition for assistance.
Rita Abrahamsen tackles the issue of how we are made to believe that the real force for democratization is internal factors whereas external factors are only but supportive. In this book, she explains how we are blinded by that fact and actually explains that the west is always present and that what is seen as domestic causes of democratization are actually largely shaped by external international forces. These international forces have brought about the development discourse to construct the third world countries as underdeveloped, painting them look inferior and unequal to the western nations. Rita Abrahamsen seeks to explain how the international arena is always present in domestic affairs of the third world nations and how their interventions end up affecting their development .The development discourse of Africa is therefore seen as key in understanding the changes to multipartyism in the continent.
This book argues that good governance comes with transformation which is best understood with the historical conjecture in which it emerged. The end of cold war, fall of communism and also the failure of the IMF and World Bank programs might have brought up this idea. The writer of this book therefore seeks to point out the close relationship that exists between the structures of government and the development discourse and how the institution of governance and democratization were considered as a possibility by changing the global balance of power. The development discourse explains governance in a way that tries to hide the difference between democratization and the removal of state from the social and economic arena. This therefore creates economic liberalism in the form of structural adjustment programmes. The book also goes ahead to criticize the good governance claim that it is culturally sensitive and instead argues that it is not different from modernization theories. This is by the fact that it has adopted an image of a good society created from the western experience.
Rita Abrahamsen argues that electoral democracy is important to African states and that it may help protect citizens from tyrannical power and enable legal and peaceful transfer of power from one leader to another (A good example is Kenya where elections are held after every five years and a leader’s term is only two terms which is ten years).However, the outcomes of these elections are not always taken positively (As seen in the case of the 2007/2008 post-election violence in Kenya). In many third world countries, especially among the middle class and the lower class, democracies is denied by social and economic rights rather than the political rights they can access. This does not offer well because it provides very limited opportunities for limited social justice because for them if you are not empowered economically, then you don’t have much of a say in any issue regarding to governance.
Rita Abrahamsen looks at how some scholars view the term democracy. Schumpeter, for instance wrote, “democracy does not mean and cannot mean that the people tally rule in any obvious sense of the term ‘people and rule ‘.Democracy means only that the people have the opportunity of accepting or refusing the men who are still to rule them”…Now one aspect of this may be expressed by saying that democracy is the rule of the politician (ibid: 284-5).
The detachments of democracy from the ideals of social and economic rights amounts to an endorsement of the social order and this promotes a form of democracy that allows for the continuation of elite privileges and sanctions the persistence of suffering.
The books also explains how external adjustment programmes may have led to democratization in Africa not because they decentralized power away from the state but because people opposed the negative effects of the said programmes. This book poses the question “whose democracy “and shows how external forces pressure and influence democratic transitions and argues that this democratization that happens in Africa may represent a defeat for Africa’s poor. The return of political pluralism has been seen by the author of this book as a sign of for economic liberalism and by implication further suffering from the poorest sections of society.
Conclusion
The democracy depicted in this book has been unable to involve the poor sections of society in the political process and agenda making. This issue brings about political unrest and instability in the third world countries. The book shows that although African states have established democratic structures, they still continue to face civil and political instability.This however does not mean that good governance discourse has been a total failure. Good governance has been a very important part of the government in the African continent and this helps shape the relationship of these countries with international organizations.
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