Africa beyond Liberal Democracy

In Search of Context-Relevant Models of Democracy for the Twenty-First Century

Reginald M.J. Oduor

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781978789050
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Political Philosophy

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title

Africa beyond Liberal Democracy: In Search of Context-Relevant Models of Democracy for the Twenty-First Century explores possible future trajectories of democratization on the continent. At the dawn of political independence in the late 1950s and early 1960s, many countries in Africa set out with liberal democratic constitutions. However, these were quickly dismantled by civilian regimes that turned their countries into one-party autocracies, or by military coups that set aside the constitutions altogether. The 1990s saw an attempt at reverting to competitive multi-party politics through the so-called second-generation constitutions, but these are again being dismantled by civilian autocracies and military juntas.
In this collection, edited by Reginald M. J. Oduor, African and Africanist scholars examine the view that what has failed in Africa is liberal democracy rather than democracy as such, because liberal democracy arose in an individualist socio-political Western context that is significantly different from the communalist milieu of African societies.
The contributors, from a variety of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, andbased in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, India, Sweden, and Finland, present a range of perspectives on possible directions for context-relevant models of democracy in the various countries of Africa in the twenty-first century.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface
• List of Figures
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part 1 RATIONALE FOR THE “AFRICA BEYOND LIBERAL DEMOCRACY” PROJECT
• Chapter One African Political Ideology and Practice in the Era of Globalisation
• Chapter Two Promoting Indigenous Values to Facilitate the Emergence of Suitable Forms of Democracy
• Chapter Three Colonialism and the Challenge of Western-Style Democracy in Africa
• Chapter Four The Snares of Liberal Democracy
• Part 2 CRITIQUE OF THE “AFRICA BEYOND LIBERAL DEMOCRACY” PROJECT
• Chapter Five Democracy as Falsehood
• Chapter Six Gender-Sensitive Followershipin Africa
• Part 3 PROPOSALS FOR CONTEXT-RELEVANT AFRICAN MODELS OF DEMOCRACY
• Chapter Seven Co-operative Collegial Democracy
• Chapter Eigh tThe Traditional Roots of Democratic Verbal Discipline
• Chapter Nine An Appeal for a Communitarian Model of Democracy
• Chapter Ten Elements of an Indigenous African Model of Democracy
• Chapter Eleven Democracy and the Right of the Minority in Africa
• Chapter Twelve Critical Reflections on the Quest for a Monolithic Democratic Alternative to Liberal Democracy for Africa
• Chapter Thirteen Groundswell
• Chapter Fourteen In Defence of Ethnically Based Federations in Post–ColonialAfrican States, with Special Reference to Kenya
• Epilogue
• Index
• About the Contributors