Moving beyond "Illiberal Democracy" in sub-Saharan Africa: recalling the significance of local governance

Abstract

African Studies Center Working Paper No. 264INTRODUCTION: FAREED ZAKARIA'S CHALLENGE TO AFRICANISTS In a provocative article entitled "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," published nearly a decade ago, Fareed Zakaria convincingly argued that, despite holding formal elections, liberal democratic practice in most of the world's newly declared "democracies" remained elusive.1 Zakaria warned that the holding of formal elections would now confer the formal title of "democracy" to a number of states but that many of them should not be thought of as classically liberal or free democracies in the sense of guaranteeing Lockean liberties and permitting the unhindered alteration of power. Citing the Freedom House's 1996–97 survey, Freedom in the World, Zakaria argued: Illiberal democracy is a growth industry. Seven years ago only 22 percent of the democratizing countries could have been so characterized; five years ago that figure had risen to 35 percent. And to date few illiberal democracies have matured into liberal democracies; if anything, they are moving toward heightened illberalism.2 Zakaria was asking us all to think critically of the sudden rise of democratic elections taking place in the post-Cold War context; something that could undoubtedly have profound implications for interpreting political realities in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past decade, however, Africanists have been slow to respond to this new political reality. It is in response to Zakaria's challenge, then, that this article is written but with a new caveat: for liberal democracy to be realized in sub-Saharan Africa, policymakers at all levels must place a renewed emphasis on local governance