Since the pre-colonial era, Africa has been characterized by remarkable events that have forced changes in its political arrangements. The continent has struggled to achieve liberalism first from their colonial masters and then from their predatory governments. The pressure for political reform emanated from international superpowers and the continent’s civil society (Thomson, 2016). This paper examines the implications of various political phenomena on state-society relationships and their impact on African politics.
During the pre-colonial era, civil societies were marginalized as states single-handedly controlled African politics. This marginalization distanced the civil society from the state and strained their relationship (Thomson, 2016). Civil society lacked the capabilities to distance itself from the predatory nature of the state. Political parties were co-dependent, although their engagements were ineffective (Thomson, 2016). Despite the state dominating civil society, it failed to amass enough power to sustain its hegemonic ambitions.
The post-colonial period was marked by strong ethnic and social ties that brought civil societies on the ascendant. Trade unions, professional associations, community organizations, and ethno-regional groups combined forces to overthrow the colonial governments (Thomson, 2016). These social bonds became powerful resources for political mobilization that consequently led to the defeat of colonial governments (Thomson, 2016). Unfortunately, the nationalists governments formed during that period were built on weak political foundations. The colonial states had exercised bureaucratic authoritarianism for decades; hence, the continent lacked a political culture of pluralism and democracy. The inherited political systems were unfamiliar to both state managers and civil societies. The outcome of this inheritance was weak African states, domestic rivalry, and strained relationships between the nation and civil society (Thomson, 2016). For example, the new African governments reflected European interests instead of Africa’s, creating a divide between traditional communities and the state
The colonial era also left Africa severely deprived economically, and it was upon the nationalist governments to rapidly increase the countries’ economic productivity. According to Thompson (2016), this was the only way the post-colonial state would raise investment capital to create modern economies. Additionally, the economic success would allow the state to provide social welfare and public services to the governed, giving them the needed legitimacy to rule (Thomson, 2016). Despite their attempts, the post-colonial governments could not support the state agenda due to the impoverished economic climate.
Consequently, African countries abandoned liberal democracy politics and assumed one-party politics. The weak government structures, divided societies, and economically disadvantaged communities forced African governments to opt for centralized political institutions (Thomson, 2016). Political pluralism was abolished, the economy in the private sector was curtailed, and public institutions dominated (Thomson, 2016). During the one-party era, civil society was marginalized and forced to accept any leadership faction that assumed authority. Politics was characterized by authoritative powers with weak roots in civil society. Civil society was neutral and indifferent to politics because they could not change the predatory nature of their governments.
With political competition stifled, the state was characterized by infighting. State elites fought amongst themselves to either consolidate or increase their power. Therefore, some political leaders relied on western support to counter competition or opposition from other state elites (Thomson, 2016). Others minimized resistance by skillful manipulation and dividing their constituents along ethnic lines to fuel internal conflicts and faction infighting. For example, Moi, Kaunda, Mobutu, and Houphout-Boigny used this technique to remain permanent features in their country’s political arena.
Other rulers used anti-democratic methods without considering the constitutional and democratic rights of their citizens to secure their power. These tactics left communities with no alternatives other than violence. The military benefited the most from these internal conflicts, leveraging their access to resources that could stage violence or perpetuate violence (Thomson, 2016). The political elites leveraged state resources to bargain, negotiate, and legitimize their power. States used client-patron networks that linked civil society to states to achieve legitimacy.
The cold war caused an economic crisis that restrained states’ internal resources. These economic problems starved the client-patron networks, meaning that the state did not have any source of legitimacy. Additionally, despite monopolizing the political activity, these state elites did not have enough power to direct their authorities in all territories of their states (Thomson, 2016). Without any source of legitimacy, the state-society relationship shifted from neutral to oppositional, adversarial, and hostility. This changed relationships between civil society and state caused social order disintegration and collapse of state structures (Thomson, 2016). The civil society took advantage of these conditions and focused on the “second economy,” undermining their leaders’ rule.
The second economy refers to illegal production and exchange activities undertaken for private gain. According to Thomson (2016), this shift led to the rise of warlords, reduced public services, and in extreme circumstances, some states collapsed. With weakened state structures, civil society and communities acquired the capability to eliminate illegitimate power and mobilize against military and one-party systems. These conditions forced many African governments to opt for multipartyism. Thomson (2016) further argues that managers were willing to risk losing control to re-legitimize their rule. Therefore, multipartyism and electoral processes became normalized in many parts of the country. Consequently, civil society was active in politics, and their relationship with the state has become productive.
Some scholars argue that Africans successfully managed to eliminate the centralized post-colonial governments as they did the pre-colonial powers. For example, George Ayittey, a political activist, writes that Africa is “unchained” and that a new age of African politics has dawned on the continent (Thomson, 2016). Statistics from economic indicators seem to support Ayittey and his associates’ optimism of the continent’s economic and political state. For example, the continent’s real income per capita domestic product has constantly been increasing by 5% every year, surpassing the growth rate of Latin America (Thomson, 2016, p. 276). As indicated by social indicators, this economic prosperity had a positive social impact as well. Infant mortality has reduced by one-third in the last two decades, while life expectancy has increased by eight years. People living under the poverty line based on African Development Bank standards decreased from over 50% to less than 45% between 1981 and 2012 (Thomson, 2016, p. 276). The international demand for African exports increased fourfold, and commodity prices, especially for minerals, have significantly improved.
The continents’ economy is currently in harmony with the international economy as many governments were forced to meet stringent loan conditions from the World Bank. These conditionalities forced African governments to liberalize, allowing free international trade. Today, the exchange rates, inflation rate, and international trade policies support the private sector. During the pre-colonial era, the centralized governments stifled the private sector to allow the public sector to dominate the industry (Thomson, 2016). However, with the conditionality set by the international players, the state was forced to allow free trade, consequently improving foreign investments and boosting the private sector.
The outcome of this economic and political development is the rise of Africa’s middle class. The middle class leverages its capabilities to enhance the democratization of national politics. Thomson (2016) demonstrated that a strong middle class strengthens the country’s prospects to consolidate the rule of law and liberal democracy. The middle class has the capability to defend itself from predatory governments. The continent has a new generation of people well versed with international norms and technology and most likely to demand government transparency, accountability, and representation from the government (Thomson, 2016). Africa’s business people and youths, who are naturally politically assertive, are thriving.
The international conditionality, the civil society involvement in constitutional processes, and African’s demand for accountability and transparency from the state created the necessary conditions for political and economic liberalism. Some scholars have argued that these groups constitute modern civil society (Srinivasan, 2016). The current relationship between civil society and the state is cooperative. The combined forces of the above players made the state improve liberal democracy and created conducive environments for international and domestic trade. In turn, economic prosperity helped the state improve the social welfare of the governed, improving the state institution’s quality and legitimacy.
Therefore, from the above analysis, it can be surmised that Africa’s ability to retain its economic and political prosperity rests on civil society. Thomson (2016) argues that “the continent’s political stability depends on the civil society’s partnership with the state” (p. 281). The author asserts that this partnership can be achieved if the state represents and is accountable to its constituents. The continent has attained economic and political developments due to the increased efficiency and quality of state institutions.
References
Srinivasan, S. (2016). Civil society as counter-power: Rethinking international support toward tackling conflict and fostering non-violent politics in Africa. In Crocker, C. A., & Aall, P. (Eds.), Minding the gap: African conflict management in a time of change (pp. 272–284). Centre for International Governance Innovation. Web.
Thomson, A. (2016). An introduction to African politics (4th ed.). Routledge.