A brief history of political legitimacy 97 wars, however, drove european thinkers to seek a basis for political legitimacy that rested on nonsectarian principles. Assessing the risks of corruption to state legitimacy and. I test these propositions in the context of south africa, a state that was. Political parties in nigeria understand the importance of voter registration and pay potential voters to register. Investigating the role of legitimacy in the political order of conflicttorn spaces florian weigand, lse abstract conflictaffected spaces that are far from exhibiting a weberian monopoly of the legitimate use of force have been categorised as fragile and failed states for years. Alex thomas, an introduction to african politics, chapter 6, legitimacy. The major part of the chapter discusses the truth and reconciliation commission trc. A political economy of africa and the contemporary global crisis. Political legitimacy stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Colonialism implanted the notion that authoritarianism is an appropriate mode of political rule and that force is an. Democracy and the crisis of legitimacy semantic scholar. This essay discusses the political changes which transpired in postcolonial africa after independence 1960s. Accordingly, two things can be expected from political systems that have a considerable level of.
This system of authoritarian rule, then, is the political system with which most african leaders were familiar. Legitimacy, justice, and the future of africa citeseerx. In this paper we five major research programmes led from europe, africa and australia present a set of important research findings and policy recommendations on the political economy of development in subsaharan africa. Risks of corruption to state legitimacy and stability in fragile situations by. Power, legitimacy and democratisation in africa africa. Perhaps surprisingly, blacks, and in particular africans, appear to have accorded the legal system a measure of legiti. Contract theory derives legitimacy from parables about the rational selfinterest of the. Violence and coercion became a common means of changing power. Legitimacy stems from the beliefs of the people, but must have institutions to be expressed.
The first meaning refers to political philosophy and deals with questions such as. In countries such as ghana, kenya and tanzania, nationalist movements institutionalised themselves as political parties, and assumed a commanding position in national politics following. Political legitimacy is a virtue of political institutions and of the decisionsabout laws, policies, and candidates for political officemade within them. A related set of doubts sprang from the perception that africas political transition was externally driven, while questioning postcold war faith in the inherent compatibility of markets and democracy. Justice and legitimacy in the south african transition. Political legitimacy in middle africa looks closely at elements of african moral and political thought and offers a nuanced assessment of whether democracy might flourish were it to be established on middle african terms. The likely implications of such political developments.
Politics in africa, lynne rienner, london and boulder. The legitimacy of the nigerian government is currently at a low, with many citizens having little or no trust in their leaders abilities to run an efficient or trustworthy state. Despite longstanding doubts about its coherence or utility okane, 1993, the. Schatzberg virtually all students of politics in africaboth western as well as africans trained in the prevailing paradigms and approaches of western empirical social sciencehave misunderstood the nature of political legitimacy in african regimes. Power, legitimacy and democratisation in africa volume 63 issue 4 michael g. An examination is made of various aspects of justice and legitimacy in the transition from authoritarianism to democracy in south africa. Between leadership, trust and technocrats page 3 development planning division working paper series no. Law and legitimacy in south africa stephen ellmann this article examines whether antiapartheid lawyering might have legitimized the south african legal system by asking what black south africans actually thought of that system. Rigged reelections in africa and the legitimacy of.
Democracy and governance in africa democratization in africa. Using 2008 afrobarometer data, i find strong support for my contention that the provision of political goods is a key determinant of legitimacy attitudes. The word legitimacy can be interpreted in either a normative way or a positive see positivism way. Legitimacy is a distinct form of political support that concerns evaluations of the state from a public or common good perspective easton, 1965. The conditions associated with the existence and stability of democratic society have been a leading concern of political philosophy. The basis of democracy and regime legitimacy in african states the. Political legitimacy can be described as peoples recognition and acceptance of the validity of the rules of their entire political system and the decisions of their rulers.
Regime legitimacy in the multiparty political competition. This entry will survey the main answers that have been given to the following questions. The postcold war period witnessed several positive changes with respect to democratization in africa. This u4 publication is a revised version of a paper produced by u4 and tiri for the uk department for international.
Power, authority and the state 7 also an important concept in political sociology. Democracy and governance in africa the national academies. Democracy and development in africa university of michigan. Political legitimacy, contingency, and rights in the middle east and north africa. In the early 1990s, donors began to show interest in promoting political change in addition to economic reforms. Thornton china center and africa growth initiative ii note. Schatzberg skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. My focus in this thesis is the legitimacy of the anc government in south africa. Section four lays out my theory of political goods and. Pdf political changes in africa after independence nom.
The central role of mugabe and his political skills richard dowden, the london times longstanding correspondent and editor for africa and now the chairman of the royal africa society, was one of the first to call publicly for discussions with mugabe in 2005. Literally it means conforming to the law or rules, justified by law. Lukes explains that, central to the idea of power is the notion of bringing about consequences, not unlike, for instance, the way in which your sociology teacher ensures that people. Political legitimacy in middle africa looks closely at elements of african moral and political thought and offers a nuanced assessment of whether democracy might. Is it primarily a descriptive or a normative concept. Sources of state legitimacy in contemporary south africa. Peter pham human rights, the rule of law, and development in africa edited by paul tiyambe zeleza and philip j. Legitimacy and the politics of opposition in the middle east and north africa by gail jeanne buttorff an abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctor of philosophy degree in political science in the graduate college of the university of iowa july 2011 thesis supervisor. A political economy of africa and the contemporary global. Legitimacy and the politics of opposition in the middle east. In this context, africa has seen its freedom heroes turn into dictators, while plunder of natural resources, politics of exclusion and. Heywoods definition runs as follows, legitimacy confers on an order or command an authoritative or binding character.
A forthcoming study on the influence of multiparty politics on governance is healey. The term legitimacy is derived from the latin word legitimate meaning to declare lawful. The causes of state legitimacy are among the central questions of political. Political instability in africa may owe much of its cause to internal factors, however the interpenetration of internal and external factors especially geo political and economic interests of the international community constantly play a significant role in undermining the very processes. Indeed, while africas political governance path has led to some notable improvements 387 million subsaharan africans now live in a democracy compared with 2. Accordingly, two things can be expected from political systems that have a considerable level of political legitimacy. Areas covered range from political system types, political economies, and political cultures of diverse. Political cultures create a framework for political change and are unique to nations, state, and other. In this paper the problem is attacked from a sociological and behavioral standpoint, by presenting a number of hypotheses concerning some social requisites for democracy, and by discussing some of the data available to test these hypotheses. Their efforts bore fruit in social contract theory. Pdf colonialism has impacted the political and economic conditions of the contemporary africa.
Postindependence african states are a western model find, read and cite all the research you. Pdf political legitimacy, contingency, and rights in the. Political instability in africa where the problem lies and. Elections and political legitimacy in kenya africa.
In countries such as ghana, kenya and tanzania, nationalist movements institutionalised themselves as political parties, and assumed a commanding position in national politics following the departure of the colonial regime post, 1968. Pdf this paper views nature of elections in africa as a threat to the legitimacy of democratic. The meaning of power and authority has been summarised by steven lukes 1978. Abstract this article views rigged reelection as a threat posed to the legitimacy of democratic regimes in africa by closely. Power, authority and the state sage publications inc.
An introduction to african politics, this course will provide for its participants a general survey of the main issues regarding politics in the continent. Political legitimacy is a major determinant of both the structure and operation of states. Democracy and governance in africa the national academies press. This paper was produced during the authors visiting fellowship with the john l. The dynamics of domination and crisis working paper kojo opoku aidoo, phd key words. Schatzberg virtually all students of politics in africa both western as well as africans trained in the prevailing paradigms and approaches of western empirical social sciencehave misunderstood the nature of political legitimacy in african regimes. Holding an election is a milestone, but it is not the key to africas democratic legitimacy.
Rigged reelections in africa and the legitimacy of democratic regimes. Hence, this paper seeks to understand the intriguing nature of the moroccan political system and its legitimacy formula as a monarchical regime. Africa, dynamics, global, political economy, domination, crisis abstract contemporary capitalism is experiencing a fundamental crisis, with collapsing markets and. Political cultures create a framework for political. The crisis of legitimacy in africa dissent magazine. As africans were the main suppliers of manual labour in the colony in which the. Mehran kamrava, 1995 political culture is a distinctive and patterned form of political philosophy that consists of beliefs on how governmental, political, and economic life should be carried out. Many elections in the african region have failed to meet the internationally accepted standards for. In south africa this happens through the political parties and other political institutions like social movements. A nigerian scenario khadijah sanusi gumbi department of political science and international studies ahmadu bello university zaria, nigeria.
One glaring aspect is the material deprivation suffered by most africans. One scholar specializing on the horn of africa likens the situation a political marketplace in which politics and violence are simply options along the spectrum pursued by powerful actors. Race, nationalism, and political violence a discussion of the causes of the massive levels of political. Legitimacy, justice, and the future of africa by j. Related studies africa afrobarometer survey 2008, merged 20 country, institute for democracy in south africa idasa, michigan state university msu, ghana centre for democratic. Investigating the role of legitimacy in the political order. Africa, providing background on the historical nature of political goods in this country and their relationship visavis legitimacy attitudes. Coups, countercoups, and aborted coups littered the political landscape on the continent. Africa 63 4, 1993 power, legitimacy and democratisation in africa michael g.
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