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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Developmental democracy and post colonial politics
Author:Carew, George
Year:1996
Periodical:Quest: An International African Journal of Philosophy (ISSN 1011-226X)
Volume:10
Issue:2
Period:December
Pages:3-35
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs.
Geographic term:Africa
Subjects:ethnicity
democracy
politics
political science
Abstract:Why has ethnicity emerged as a disintegrative force in the politics of African nationbuilding? The author argues that understanding the nature of the tension between the State and ethnicity in Africa requires an analysis not only of the concept of civil society but also of the nature of the constituted community. At the base of the State-ethnic crisis is the formulation of a democratic theory in the context of a liberalism in crisis over the critical issue of whether there is really a noncoercive path to democratic legitimacy. The author suggests a reworking of the normative framework of liberal democracy to enable the creation of a space for plural identities, an approach he names 'developmental democracy'. He first of all discusses the problem of democratic legitimacy by contrasting the approaches of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Rawls to the resolution of the problem. He next examines the postcolonial experiment with democracy in Africa, paying particular attention to the special character of African ethnicity. Finally, he explores and justifies an alternative strategy for resolving the problem of democratic legitimacy, drawing on the principles of recognition and autonomy. Notes, ref.
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