NEOPATRIMONIALISM AND DEMOCRATIC STABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE OF GHANA’S 1992 REDEMOCRATIZATION

Abstract

By the mid 1960s, many African leaders had concluded that what Africa needed badly was rapid economic growth to catch up with the Western advanced global economy. In all too soon, changes in government began to occur via military putsch. Military coup more or less became institutionalized. Consequently, African states began to experience military, militarism and authoritarianism coupled with persistent economic policy failures. Africa’s quest for rapid economic growth and development therefore became taunted and hence underdevelopment. As a result, two decades or less, African states focused on economic development strategies, nonetheless, both economic development strategies and regional integration idea failed to yield development dividend. Therefore, at the turn of the 21st century consensus emerged that the root cause of Africa’s underdevelopment is ‘bad governance.’ Accordingly, many African countries including Ghana embraced liberal democracy and have since 1990s been democratizing state institutions. Few African countries including Ghana has more or less ‘perfected’ electoral democracy though, democratizing state institutions and deepening democratic culture remain problematic. What accounts for the difficulty in customizing and deepening democratic culture and values? Using in-depth interview with selected political scientists and few experts in democracy affairs, this paper explored the historical trajectories and validity of neopatrimonialism, as a partial explanation for Ghana’s 1992 re- democratization nuances. Findings show that neopatrimonial rule is so pervasive in post-colonial Ghana in particular and Africa in general. This paper concluded that beneath what appears to be a successful case of democratic stability in Ghana lies sturdy neopatrimonial dysfunctionalty that serve as counterweights to democratic culture. This paper is, thus, intended to augment the understanding of the theoretical versatility of neopatrimonial thesis as a clarification of the on-going discourse on democratic stability in Africa including Ghana.