Archives for January 2015
Christine Cubitt African politics is bedevilled by a number of features that combine to produce an image of bad governance on the continent today. Corruption, militarism, authoritarianism, clientelism, neo-patrimonialism or tribalism are all evidenced …
Africa and the Challenges of Democracy and Good Governance in the 21st Century Published: January 15, 2015
Said Adejumobi Beginning from the 1980s, there has been a gradual but concerted attempt to reverse the trend of political despair and disillusionment which hitherto characterized political life in Africa. This attempt manifests in the demand for politi …
Governance Trumps Democracy Published: January 15, 2015
Robert Rotberg Everyone wants and believes in democracy. Those of us who study democracy affirm its utility in the making and maintaining of modern nation-states. Some of our kind attempt to re-examine its roots, to fine-tune its applicability to vario …
Government and the process of governance in Africa Published: January 15, 2015
Joy Alemazung Government, Governance and Power: Government can be defined as the body of officials and institutions constituting the leadership authority of a state. Depending upon the type of political system, say, federal or centralized state system, …
Constraints and Impediments of Good Governance Published: January 15, 2015
Hilal Ahmad Wani Introduction: Since the end of the 1980s the issue of good governance is dominating the international discussion about development and international assistance to Africa. However, governance is a broad concept, not easy to define, and …
Ethiopia: The Right to Remain Silent Published: January 15, 2015
Ben Rawlence Few political rights exist in Ethiopia and even fewer voices criticize the government. The right to remain silent is one liberty not denied to critics of the Ethiopian government. Most other political entitlements have vanished. This expla …
Where Dinosaurs Still Roam Published: January 15, 2015
The Economist The survival of ancient tyrants spoils Africa’s record of improving democracy. Between independence from colonial rule in the early 1960s and the end of the cold war in 1991, not a single African ruler was peacefully ousted at the ballot …
In Namibia: The People Have Voted, or Not… Published: January 15, 2015
Henning Melber Namibia is now the arena of one-party dominance. This translates the slogan from the struggle days that “SWAPO is the nation and the nation is SWAPO” into the dominant if not exclusive political culture. While observers testify to free a …
A Family Affair? Published: January 15, 2015
The Economist YOWERI MUSEVENI may not have squirrelled away as much money as some of Africa’s other long-serving leaders, but few have accumulated a comparable wealth in nicknames. Uganda’s president since 1986, he has been called “M7”, “Sevo”, “Othell …