The African continent remained a largely colonized territory for several centuries. The process of emancipation began in the late 1950s and was accomplished in 1990 with the liberation of Namibia (SAFO). Although decolonization is a fundamentally positive development, post-independence was a turbulent period for the continent. Numerous countries experienced political instability, with structural factors and policy choices playing a substantial role in lags in democracy. This essay will argue that policy is more important in establishing democracy in African countries than structural factors.
Economic development, distribution of resources, political order, and government systems are impacted by a combination of factors. Christensen and Laitin propose a conceptual framework that explains the correlation between structural factors, policy, and outcomes, such as establishing a democracy (4). Thus, every government inherits certain historical, economic, environmental, social, and cultural conditions (Christensen and Laitin 4). These conditions are associated with specific economic and political opportunities and constraints that inform the policy decisions of the leaders (Christensen and Laitin 4). Thus, through policy, structural factors directly impact the economy and political order of a nation (Christensen and Laitin 4). In addition, over time, the instituted policies further influence the structural factors of a country, informing and creating new opportunities and constraints for future political leaders through a feedback loop (Christensen and Laitin 4). Therefore, a combination of structural factors and policies affects whether democracy is installed and functions efficiently in a country.
Structural factors form a crucial context for the development of political institutions, attitudes, and values in a society. Availability of natural resources, geographic location, and access to trade routes substantially impact the economy of a country (Ade Ajayi 8). The management of the economy translates into specific political regimes gaining public support. Similarly, mismanagement of a nation’s resources can result in the public rising against their governments. If a political system fails to utilize the resources available to them appropriately or engages in unethical practices in distributing those reserves, it puts itself at risk of being deposed. It should be noted that although the public has a certain degree of influence over the government, disaffected elites are more efficient in removing authoritarian regimes and establishing a democratic power (Bratton and Walle 76). For example, the president of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had a tumultuous relationship with some ministers in his cabinet, leading to discontent and an economic crisis that resulted in the establishment of Congo as a democracy (Bratton and Walle 76). Thus, structural factors play a crucial role in forming democracies on the African continent.
Nevertheless, a stronger argument can be made for policy choices as the primary cause of democracy as an outcome in Africa since independence. Although structural factors considerably impact the political system, the policy serves as a more critical aspect. In particular, structural factors are managed by policy decisions which can either have an adverse or positive effect on a country’s political system. For example, the mismanagement of oil revenues in Nigeria eventually led to the democratic regime being installed in the country (Bratton and Walle 67). Thus, if appropriate laws were established and the reserves were managed aptly, the political system would undergo a more subtle change to democracy. Similarly, it is through government policy that democracy can be established and institutionalized (Opalo 91). Overall, the policy is vital to democracy as an outcome of independence in Africa.
In summary, the interplay of structural factors and policy shaped outcomes in African countries since decolonization. Although different structural aspects profoundly impact the economic development, political order, and government systems of a country, the policy has far greater power. Policy decisions manage the existing structural factors, and the public, as well as political elites, react to the implementation of policies. Overall, the experience of Africa since independence illustrates that democracy can be an outcome of policy.
Works Cited
Ade Ajayi, J. F. “Expectations of Independence.” Daedalus, vol. 111, no. 2, 1982, pp. 1-9, Web.
Bratton, Michael, and Nicholas V. Walle. “Neopatrimonial Rule in Africa.” Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective, Cambridge UP, 1997.
Christensen, Darin, and David D. Laitin. African States Since Independence. Yale UP, 2019.
Opalo, Kennedy O. “African Elections: Two Divergent Trends.” Journal of Democracy, vol. 23, no. 3, 2012, pp. 80-93.
SAFO. “The Namibian Struggle for Independence – 1966 – 1990 – a Historical Background.” South African History Online, Web.