J A Wiseman, The new struggle for democracy in Africa, Ashgate, Aldershot, 1998

Ten years ago, the distinguished African political scientist John Wiseman wrote a book on the state of democracy in Africa. In Democracy in Black Africa: Survival and revival, he concluded that "the future of African democracy [was] likely to be patchy and changeable but persistent." In his latest book, Wiseman notes that, despite major obstacles that still confront democracy taking root on the African continent, room for "cautious optimism" is justified. Cautious optimism perhaps best summarises the theme of Wiseman’s book. Wiseman’s ‘warts and all’ treatment of the present condition of democracy in Africa is an honest attempt by a natural optimist to question perceptions of democracy and how most African states have utilised it. In this framework, he sees a ‘new struggle for democracy’ for the continent emerging.

The book itself is a model of economic exposition. He first presents a useful description of the democracy-related changes that have occurred in all 48 states of sub-Saharan Africa since the beginning of 1989. At the beginning of 1989, the vast majority of states were ruled by military or single-party regimes. By 1996, quite a few states were operating pluralistic — if not always, as he concedes, openly democratic — systems. At the beginning, he seeks to make the obvious, but often overlooked point that an immense diversity of experiences exists across many African states. The book rattles along as Wiseman outlines the reasons for the pressure of change foisted upon most African states under authoritarian rule. He examines the interaction between internal and external pressures. In this, at least, he takes issue with Tom Young’s views and shares along with Bayart, Clapham, Welch and Chazan that it was internal rather than external pressures which lay at the root of change from authoritarian regimes to more pluralistic models. He solidly maps out the role played by the church, trade unions, professional bodies, human rights groups, student movements, the media, and mass protests. Wiseman believes that it was the interaction between each group that set Africa on a new course for democratisation in the 1990s.

The widespread movement away from authoritarian single-party and military rule raised many questions around the mechanisms of transition. Many proceeded by way of organised national conferences or referenda. The evidence shows clearly that the latter were used far more than national conferences. Here, Wiseman cites the lack of trust between personalities and participants who feared a subversion of the new political dispensation. An aspect of transition was the viability and consolidation of opposition parties becoming organised to meet this new dispensation. Wiseman reveals how some were ill-equipped to make the transition from parties in exile to parties in political participation. Nor was the ideological demarcation between new party formation any more clear. Electoral procedures have produced mixed results across Africa. As many as 21 countries have held one competitive election which turned out to be what he calls "regime confirming." These included Angola (1992), Botswana (1989 and 1994), Burkina Faso (1992), Cameroon (1992), The Gambia (1992), Djibouti (1993), Ethiopia (1994), Kenya (1992) and Zimbabwe (1990), among others. However, such political processes did usher in increased political participation. This was seen at both the mass and élite levels of the political process. At the élite level, it was often marked by the re-entry of counter-élite, in another words, alternative leaders who had previously been excluded or had withdrawn from the political process. The weakening of authoritarian shackles of control also allowed a freer movement at the mass level. Wiseman tempers his enthusiasm for such new developments by stressing that Africa is still focused — on the whole — on the ‘first’ post-redemocratisation elections, and only after two and perhaps three can any conclusions be made.

Similarly, he urges that Rwanda, appalling as events were and continue to be, must not be seen as representative of a wider Africa. In Rwanda in 1991, the quasi-military government of President Habyarimana permitted opposition parties and even brought some of them into a coalition government. His subsequent assassination led to the horrible events that gave rise to the genocide and war. In other countries, where there has been some sort of redemocratisation progress with so-called free and fair competitive elections, none (with the exception of Angola) saw the restoration of single-party rule. Even here qualifications have to be made for, in some states — most notably Kenya, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mauritania — government treatment of the opposition and the role it plays have not been ideal. Wiseman prefers to see such states as semi-democracies that are neither fully democratic nor fully authoritarian. The brevity of post-election periods makes it impossible to offer hard conclusions other than to say that democratic consolidation in most African states is always in danger of being undermined by the next political crisis.

Although none of Africa’s states are fully consolidated, this does not mean that the possibilities and probabilities are necessarily dire. Wiseman states that it depends on the particular outlook: demo-pessimistic or demo-optimistic. The extent to which democracy will play a significant role in the future of African states is inherently unpredictable. As such, it is easier to be a demo-pessimist. Here Wiseman cites the doom-mongers who predicted that elections in South Africa would fail; having been proved wrong, they have shifted their focus to other areas which are not addressed, such as disparities in wealth and the legacy of past violence. To be a demo-optimist does not mean to accept that all African states will one day achieve full democratisation.

It is here that Wiseman makes his most interesting contribution. For him, the kind of label chosen is important in determining expectations. Maximalist definitions of democracy must be reluctantly set aside. Issues such as economic equality, high participation in the political process and gender equality should be seen as "possible results of democracy (or being more likely to occur in a democracy) rather than as part of its definition." Such issues are notoriously difficult to measure. More than that, a maximalist perspective will never conform to the reality on the ground in most African states. Perhaps as an alternative, Robert Dahl’s concept of polyarchy, could be seen to cause a minimalist view of issues. In this, expectations should be limited to two broad characteristics: where there are rights of citizenship and the rights to oppose and vote on the highest officials in a country; and the presence of seven institutions: elected officials, free and fair elections, inclusive suffrage, the right to run for office, alternative information, freedom of expression and associational autonomy. This does not mean good government. Corruption, inefficiency, irresponsibility and élitist special interests may well be rife. But, as Huntington pointed out elsewhere, such transgressions make governments undesirable rather than undemocratic.

Although it is a short book, its scope is unquestionably large. The tension between Wiseman, the humane African observer, and Wiseman, the rational political scientist, becomes all too apparent. As he himself states: "when faced with limited improvements in levels of democracy in real world political systems the choice for those who evaluate is either to condemn them for their limitations or to welcome them as improvements." Wiseman clearly belongs in the latter camp. He outlines recent political change in Africa through a prism of complexities and contradictions and, as such, "temptations to tidy up the developments by simplifying them must be resisted." This book does not tidy up any outstanding issues, but it lays out some of the issues other academic observers of Africa will have to nit-pick over in assessing the progress of democratisation in Africa.

Shahzad Ahmed
Institute for Security Studies