Authoritative Governance and Democratization Processes of African Nations - Essay Example

Democracy and Post-Colonial Countries Introduction Despite the global changes witnessed in the modern societies across the world with reference to the ideology of democratization, African countries seem to lag behind in implementing the required changes to their economies. The African continent was a subject to the European colonial masters since the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. However, the subjects established uprisings during the period that eventually led to the withdrawal of the colonialists from the specific states. Thereafter, the African nations embarked on a period of democratization. Essentially, the research study indicates on the struggle that African nations embarked on to achieve democratization and the simultaneous barriers prevalent in the countries concerning the ideology and its relationships to economic, social, political, and cultural developments (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). The following discussion is a research study seeking to establish the process of democratization in Africa through the evaluation and documentation of the effects of colonization on the economic and social structures of the nations. Further, the research indicates an analytical evaluation approach to define whether the colonizers influenced the structures of the country, Cameroon to the modern day. The effects colonization had in preventing democratization in Africa Africa was a subject to the European colonialists during the colonial era. Scholars argue out that Africa was divided into social states based on the ethnic beliefs, languages, tribes, and the different traditional types of religion. According to the ideology of democracy, the traditional African society can be argued out as democratic since each society was governed by the traditional leaders with whom their subjects were loyal to after acknowledging that they were best suited to those positions (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). However, the scramble and petition for Africa led to the introduction of many influential but ill Western cultures since the nations were subjected to dictatorial regimes, foreign beliefs, and different languages. The colonialists influenced the nations’ administrative, social, political, and economic structures accordingly (Grugel, 2012). Since the colonialists were devoted to implementation of their systems in the countries while the indigenous people were rooted to their earlier practices, a process of rivalry begun after the Africans realized that they needed their old systems back. After the nations achieved their status back, differences emerged since the divisions made in the boundaries, the new languages and social structures witnessed in the region depending on the colonialists, and the newly perceived approach of asserting forces to acquire changes affected them. The countries’ practices on governance and the approaches to democracy changed since every nation turned to pursue dictatorial governance or a coined multiparty system that barred changes from occurring as the leaders undertook measures to curb any internal pressures that threatened their governance (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). Similarly, the implemented colonial systems of religions continued to the postcolonial nations. The colonial dictatorial systems seemed to have been transferred to the postcolonial African states since the subsequent leaders imposed stringent controls to tame any form of rivalry and predation from any person or system that threatened the target government (Nwauwa, 2001). Such countries whose democratization was barred by their colonialists’ practices include Kenya, Libya, Egypt, Zaire, Uganda, and Sudan among others. The level of economic development Through the evaluation of the information documented in the various books, it is realistic that the issue of democratization may not be addressed effectively as perceived by the global community since the political parties and the leaders in power engage in unethical methods of ruling, which also encourage the prevalence of corruption and bloodshed politics. The USSR’s support to most of the African nations during the postcolonial period led to economical development but for a shortened period since the support was withdrawn after its collapse. Further, most of the African nations supported the West during the Cold-War period, a factor that did not auger well with the USSR. Scholars indicate that the nations’ natural wealth benefits certain groups of the societies while the majority population still languishes in poverty due to marginalization (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). Such practices contravene the essence of democracy since the poor population is incapable of undertaking any obligations that are valuable towards economic development. After the collapse of the USSR, the ideologies of globalization and democratization became common since every society perceived that these aspects were meant to influence equated integration and profound developments. However, the African nations were to lag behind in ensuring economic development despite the availability of the essential resources since the political structure of most of the countries was controversial to the ideology of democracy. The western nations deviated from supporting those African economies whose democratic implementation processes were questionable. Therefore, African nations were struggling to implement profound changes in relation to the ideology of democratization while the western nations refrained from delivering any aid to the nations so long as there were practices that contradicted the free economy system, human rights, and necessary changes towards constitutional freedoms. The countries’ GDP growth remains minimal despite the argument that the current governments implement the best infrastructure and units to deter the prevalence of corruption in the country. The essence of democratization and globalization in the African nations, with reference to the Western influences denote the deterrence as to why there is adverse poverty in the nations. The modern type of democracy deviates from Africa’s style since it is centered on the Anglo-American practices. Ideally, ancient African society had their systems of governance and styles of ensuring economic growth (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). Therefore, the adoption of the foreign dictatorial practices of the colonial era led to the eradication of the African systems as the postcolonial leaders followed suit after independence. The fanatical leaders restrained economic growth since they were aggressive to curb any internal forces that seemed focused to the implementation of changes, which in turn would reflect an end to such governments. The process of democratization seems to have been barrier to economic growth as the Western nations devised deceptive regulations in order to ensure that their industrial products sold to the African domestic markets. Further, the countries establish controversial approaches towards democratization since achieving independence, and these bar economic development since the Western nations restrain the countries’ authorities to implement democracy in all dimensions. The research established that the Western colonialists remain to be the major economic giants, and their neo-colonialism approaches are aimed at benefiting from the African economies. While centering the limitations of democracy as the barriers to economic empowerment, the western economies ensure that they remit aid to the economies after asserting a specific resource that may benefit their own countries (Lee & Kenneth 2003). With such practices, African nations remain economically insufficient at the global platform with their goods comprising mainly of unprocessed raw materials whose returns are inferior compared to those of the western economies (Nwauwa, 2001). While treating the subject of colonialism from a holistic approach in order to identify the differences that relate to democracies and its legacies, it is realized that the countries disguises are barriers to devolution and decentralization of resources to the communities (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). Eventually, the intensive research indicated that the identified legacies implemented through holistic and globalization approaches bar the effectiveness of the internal economies to achieve the essential economic growth rates. Social fragmentation The evidence is that countries social structures lag behind since the governments restrain any form of aggression that may lead to the eradication of ignorance (Lee & Kenneth 2003). Further, the colonialists set institutions whose adaptation processes deviate from the ancient African civilization practices. For instance, the postcolonial nations engaged on governance through political institutions despite the ancient ones having been devised according to the will of the people in various dimensions. For example, each community in Africa chose its leaders depending on its traditional practices, languages, beliefs, culture, and geographic location. Therefore, the production of political systems that led to the birth of leaders who governed different social structures under one rule (Nwauwa, 2001). Therefore, these systems spurred internal rivalry and continuously barred the achievement of profound social structures whereby the citizens were unified under one structure. Further, the boundaries asserted by the colonialists did not conform to indigenous divisions, and this seems to be deterrence to social integration. Certainly, the research implements that only a few numbers of post-colonial countries have successfully embraced democratization to the desired effect (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). The issues depicted reveal that African nations may not acquire democratization and social integration since the colonialists left structures that fragmented the indigenous societies adversely. These practices deter fairness amongst the societies, and it is knowledgeable that social fragmentation continues to present challenges as a majority population continues to live in poor living conditions while a minority enjoys the available benefits from the country’s abundant resources (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). After evaluating the social structure of the country, revelations are that the different dimensions of democratization, and the political and social practices implemented by the colonialists bar the presence of the necessary changes thus hindering the effective nature of democratization. The relationship between the state and the civil society Arguably, the subject of democratization at a period whereby the cold war ceased, and the entire global community perceived democracy and liberalization as the best ideologies to ensure profound growth and competence of nations at the global scale. Africans deciphered that they would achieve democratized country that would remit its services to benefit the entire population without any form of prejudice. Therefore, the adoption of the foreign dictatorial practices of the colonial era led to the eradication of the African systems as the postcolonial leaders followed suit after independence (Nwauwa, 2001). The large-scale analysis realized that the course of democratization in many countries from the continents of Europe and Africa, to Asia and South America rests threatened by the ideology of disguised capitalism (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). Carl Marx predicted this as a beneficial for economic success, and the nation of Cameroon seems to have inclined capitalism and individualism to barring effective changes in the society. In order to establish a more precise and assertive research on the issue of democratization in post-colonial nations in Africa, the research evaluated on the contributions the foreign the Western nations to ensuring that the African nations continued to rule in ways that favored them. Precisely, it is definite that the nation’s leadership criteria have been deterring the perceived ideologies of democratization through increased corruption in the administration. While redressing democratization the countries, it is evident that the civil society has been embarking on creating awareness to the people of the country to realize their democratic powers and vote for the best leaders. The civil society criticizes the state’s approach to democracy and ensuring fair distribution of resources, which rests unaddressed with the local tribes forming divisions that eventually bar the desired unity and recognition of democracy (Lee & Kenneth 2003). Mainly, the several aspects that identify democratization as an issue centered to ensuring that the western nations acquire the best values that the African nations and other post-colonial countries may present. The relationship between Cameroon’s and those of its colonizers Ideally, the research study acknowledges that the U.S.A and its western allies presented controversial supports for the African prior and after the collapse of the communism. However, the country has survived the threat of mutinies and coupes, which are common amongst the neighboring countries, for example, the unending civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic Uprising, and the recent Islamic uprisings in the Northern Africa region (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). Through such information, it is realized that the allied nations strived in the best of their capacities to ensure that the African regimes did not form any social or economic attachments to the communists since these would bar the exercise of liberalization that targeted to favor the capitalist economies. Further, it is acknowledged that the extent at which Cameroon approaches the process of democratization. Precisely, the hindrances presented in Cameroon are correlative to the struggle for the achievement of democracy in the country. The compounded research asserted that the British established profound institutions that served for the benefit of the local society unlike those implemented by their succeeding French colonialists. Since the study aimed to evaluate the post-colonial approaches to the ideology of democracy in Cameroon, the researches served coherence in the development of a platform upon which the Cameroonian political structure was built. The impacts that the former African colonialists left in the countries were far reaching as the nations are yet to abide by the modern and contemporary ideologies of leadership and administration (Lee & Kenneth 2003). Further, identifications made by other artists through the assertion of the subject of economic empowerment that the African nations received from their colonial masters prior and after the cold war period. The study also realizes that the revisits on the issue of post-colonial oppression in the modern day and asserts on the economic significance that the western allies have continuously been revamped to the economy (Nwauwa, 2001). The research defined the post-colonial country’s development through the ideology of democracy. Therefore, the research study deciphered the best knowledge since the reviews asserted on the impacts of legendary classical theories of social economic development rehearse that Cameroon’s practices are related to those of their French colonialists. Arguably, it was knowledgeable that most African leaders presume to govern the nations as though they are the best, and they engage in unethical practices to ensure that they maintain such positions. The first multiparty elections held in the1992 rose questions after the incumbent president won. Researchers from the global society revealed that the election processes in Cameroon are marred with many flaws since government agencies were the ones acquainted the duty to operate the processes (Bernhard, Reenock, & Nordstorm, 2004). This is a revelation that the country’s leadership has never accepted the importance of democratization, with the authorities trying as much as possible to deter the birth of a new nation through a new leader. Precisely, they seem unsure of whether the future president and government will lead for the benefit of the people through economic and social expansion. The evaluation of social fragmentation in the countries mainly considers the already existing information on the issues that have evolved in the countries in the presence of colonial culture and democratization. History indicates that the African nations were initially democratic before the colonialists took over (Lee & Kenneth, 2003). Thereafter, the indigenous tribes allied and revolted against the oppressors thus; they were able to achieve their independence. Subsequently, the local society appointed a president who would lead in accordance to the French system without the assertion of any constitutional changes to address the issue of equated distribution of resources. Conclusion Other researchers draw their opinions on the subjects of economic propulsion and social development to the extent at which they are likely to be influenced by democratization. Authoritative governance and accurate democratization processes indicate that each of the African nations, including Cameroon draw their democratic approaches in reference to their colonial predecessors’ administrative practices. This study indicates that Cameroon is among the specific nations whose practice of democratization in encouraging equity, fair distribution of wealth, and social development remains challenged. Through the assertion of the point of fetishism in achieving and implementing democratization, it is certain that the Cameroon’s process of democratization is disguised to benefit a certain class of the country’s population, while the global community rests contented by the practices in order to accrue the available economic benefits. Precisely, the revisits made on the issue of post-colonial oppression in the modern day assert that the economic significance of the western allies is continuously blocking the ideal practices of democratization in order to control the economies indirectly. References Bernhard, M., Reenock, C., & Nordstorm, T., (2004). International Studies Quarterly (2004). Vol 48, 225-250. Retrieved on 26 March 2014 from: http://mailer.fsu.edu/~creenock/Research/isq%202004.pdf Grugel, J. (2012). Democratization. London: Sage. Lee, A., & Kenneth A. (2003). Comparing British and French Colonial Legacies. Retrieved on 26 March 2014 from: http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/wgape/papers/17_Lee.pdf Liu, J. (2012). Western impact on Africas economic development and the progress of democracy. Graduate Theses and Dissertations. Paper 12872. Retrieved on 26 March 2014 from: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3879&context=etd Nwauwa, O. (2001). Concepts of Democracy and Democratization in Africa Revisited. Retrieved on 26 March 2014 from: http://upress.kent.edu/Nieman/Concepts_of_Democracy.htm Read More