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Civil Society Organizations and Democratic Governance in Africa

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The Palgrave Handbook of African Politics, Governance and Development

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Abstract

The emergence of civil society actors as critical non-state actors in African politics illustrates the rise of the pro-democracy forces that spearheaded the opening up of political space that had been constricted through the repressive measures of state actors. This struggle for the policy domain was reinforced by the third wave of democratization that stormed Africa in the early 1990s, which counterbalanced the overbearing power of the state and compelled it to transit to democracy. The vibrancy of civil society organizations in the democratic space later declined as a result of factors such as the co-optation of activists into the political domain, the abandonment of the barricades for soft options such as symposia and workshops on critical issues, and so on. This work interrogates the role of civil society actors in democratic renewal and consolidation in Africa. It concludes that civil society groups could be more involved in the deepening of democracy amidst de-democratizing tendencies.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Mahmood Mamdani. Citizen and subject: Contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996; Steven Friedman, and Mark Robinson. Civil society, democratization and foreign aid in Africa. Vol. 383. London: IDS Discussion Paper, 2005; Bodewes, Christine. Civil Society in Africa: The Role of a Catholic Parish in a Kenyan Slum. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014; Mojibayo Fadakinte. “Historicising Civil Society in Africa: An Analysis of the State, Democracy and the Third Sector.” Canadian Social Science 11(3) (2015): 130.

  2. 2.

    Samuel Olugbemiga Afolabi. “State, Civil Society and Democratization in Nigeria.” In Democracy and Democratic Party in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects, edited by Olajire. A. Bamisaye and Olu Awofeso, 72. Lagos: Mac Grace Publisher, 2011.

  3. 3.

    Darren Kew and Modupe Oshikoya. “Escape from Tyranny: Civil Society and Democratic Struggles in Africa.” In The Handbook of Civil Society in Africa, edited by Obadare Ebenezer. New York: Springer Sciences, 2014.

  4. 4.

    Chris Hann. “Introduction: Political Society and Civil Anthropology.” In Civil Society: Challenging Western Models, edited by Chris Hann and Elizabeth Dunn. London: Routledge, 1996; Fadakinte, Mojibayo M. “Historicising Civil Society in Africa: An Analysis of the State, Democracy and the Third Sector.” Canadian Social Science 11(3) (2015): 130.

  5. 5.

    Crayford Young. “In search of civil society.” Civil society and the state in Africa (1994): 33–50; Hann, Chris. “Introduction: political society and civil anthropology.” In Civil society: Challenging western models, edited by Hann, Christopher Michael, and Elizabeth Dunn, 1–26. Psychology Press, 1996; Christine Bodewes. Civil Society in Africa: The Role of a Catholic Parish in a Kenya Slum. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013; Modupe Oshikoya. “Escape from Tyranny: Civil society and democratic struggles in Africa.” In The handbook of civil society in Africa, edited by Obadare, Ebenezer, 7–23. New York: Springer Sciences, 2014.

  6. 6.

    Hann, Chris. “Introduction: political society and civil anthropology.” In Civil society: Challenging western models, edited by Hann, Christopher Michael, and Elizabeth Dunn, 5. Psychology Press, 1996.

  7. 7.

    Karl Marx. Critique of Philosophy of Right. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970.

  8. 8.

    Gramsci Antonio. Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers, 1971; Christine, Bodewes. Civil Society in Africa: The Role of a Catholic Parish in a Kenyan Slum. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.

  9. 9.

    A. Ferguson. An Essay on the History of Civil society. Edinburg: University of Edinburg Press, 1996; Philip Oxhorn. “Conceptualizing Civil Society From the Bottom Up: A Political Economy Perspective.” In Civil Society and Democracy in Latin America, edited by Feinsberg, Richard, Waisman, Carlos, H and Leon Zamosc. Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

  10. 10.

    de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America, ed. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1945.

  11. 11.

    Mark Robinson and Steven Friedman. “Civil Society, Democratization and Foreign Aid in Africa.” (Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Discussion Paper 385, 2005), 1; G. White. “Civil Society, Democratization and Development (I): Clearing the Analytical Ground.” Democratization, 1(3) (1994), 375–90; Mark Robinson. “Strengthening Civil Society in Africa: The Role of Foreign Political Aid.” IDS Bulletin, 26(2) (1995), 70–80.

  12. 12.

    Antony McGrew. “The State in Advanced Capitalist Society.” Global Society, 12(3) (1998): 69.

  13. 13.

    Philippe Schmitter. “Civil Society East and West.” In Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies: Themes and Perspectives, ed. Larry Diamond, M. F. Plattner, Yun-han, Chu and Hung-mao Tien (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), 240.

  14. 14.

    Philippe Schmitter. Civil Society East and West, 240.

  15. 15.

    Phillip Oxhorn. “From Controlled Inclusion to Coerced Marginalization: The Struggle for Civil Society in Latin America.” In Civil Society: Theory, History and Comparison, ed. J. Hall, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995), 67 and 68.

  16. 16.

    Peter P. Ekeh. “Civil Society and the Construction of Freedom in African History”. (Keynote Address to Wilberforce Conference on Civil Society in Africa, Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio, 1998). http://www.nigerianscholars.africanqueen.com.

  17. 17.

    Larry Diamond. “Rethinking Civil Society: Toward Democratic Consolidation.” Journal of Democracy, 5(3) (1994): 5.

  18. 18.

    Larry Diamond. Rethinking Civil Society, 5.

  19. 19.

    Camara Mohamed. “Media, Civil Society and Political Culture of West Africa.” Scholarly Commons, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (2008), 24.

  20. 20.

    E Gyimah-Boadi. Democratic Reform in Africa: the Quality of Progress (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2004); Majeed Mohammed. “Civil Society and Democratic Consolidation in Africa: A Comparative Study of Ghana and Nigeria”, (Msc. Thesis Public Policy, Central Europe University, 2011), 26.

  21. 21.

    Toni Haapanen, (eds.). “Civil Society in Tanzania” (Kepa’s Working Paper No. 19, 2007), 3.

  22. 22.

    Alex Hadenius and Fredrick Uggla. “Making Civil Society Work, Promoting Democratic Development: What Can States and Donors Do?” World Development 24(10) (1996): 1628.

  23. 23.

    Michael Bratton. “Civil Society and Political Transition in Africa.” Institute of Development Research (IDR) Reports 11(6) (1994): 7.

  24. 24.

    Camara Mohamed. “Media, Civil Society and Political Culture of West Africa.” Scholarly Commons, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (2008), 24.

  25. 25.

    Majeed Mohammed. “Civil Society and Democratic Consolidation in Africa: A Comparative Study of Ghana and Nigeria.” (Msc. Thesis Public Policy, Central Europe University, 2011), 22–26.

  26. 26.

    Michael Bratton. “Civil Society and Political Transition in Africa.” Institute of Development Research (IDR) Reports 11(6) (1994): 10.

  27. 27.

    Michael Bratton. Civil Society in Africa, 6.

  28. 28.

    Sara Jagwanth. “Democracy, Civil Society and the South Africa Constitution: some challenges.” Management of Social Transformation (MOST), Discussion Paper 65 (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2003), 7.

  29. 29.

    Sara Jagwanth. Democracy, Civil Society and the South Africa Constitution, 7.

  30. 30.

    Sara Jagwanth. Democracy, Civil Society and the South Africa Constitution, 8–10.

  31. 31.

    Peter Wanyande. Civil Society and Transition Politics in Kenya: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, Discourses on Civil Society in Kenya.” The African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF), (Nairobi, Kenya, 2009), 15.

  32. 32.

    Peter Wanyande. Civil Society and Transition Politics in Kenya: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, Discourses on Civil Society in Kenya.” The African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF), (Nairobi, Kenya, 2009), 15.

  33. 33.

    Adebayo Olukoshi.“The Political Economy of the Structural Adjustment Programme.” In The Political Economy of Nigeria Under Military Rule: 1984–1993, ed. Said Adejumobi and Abu Momoh (Harare: SAPES Books, 1995), 148–152; Dele Seteolu and SAT Obiyan. “The Political Economy of Post-Structural Adjustment in Nigeria.” In An Agenda for a New Nigeria: The Imperative of Transformation, ed. Remi Anifowose and Tunde Babawale (Lagos: Concept Publications, 2006), 324.

  34. 34.

    Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) (University of Benin NEC Meeting, Nov. 17–18, 2001).

  35. 35.

    Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) (University of Benin NEC Meeting.

  36. 36.

    Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) (University of Benin NEC Meeting.

  37. 37.

    Karl Marx cited in Said Adejumobi. “Structural Adjustment, Students Movement and Popular Struggles in Nigeria, 1986–1996”, in Identity Transformation and Identity Politics Under Structural Adjustment in Nigeria, ed. Attahiru Jega (Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet in collaboration with The Centre for Research and Documentation, 2000), 231.

  38. 38.

    Amilcar Cabral and Frantz Fanon cited in Said Adejumobi. Structural Adjustment, Students’ Movement and Popular Struggles in Nigeria, 232.

  39. 39.

    Said Adejumobi. Structural Adjustment, Students Movement and Popular Struggles in Nigeria, 239.

  40. 40.

    Said Adejumobi. Structural Adjustment, Students Movement and Popular Struggles in Nigeria, 227.

  41. 41.

    Said Adejumobi. Structural Adjustment, Students Movement and Popular Struggles in Nigeria, 228.

  42. 42.

    Essien D. Essien. “Civil Society in Nigeria: A Force for Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development?” (The Davies Papers: Africa Series #1, January, 2014); Olugbemiga S. Afolabi. “State, Civil Society and Democratization in Nigeria.” In Democracy and Democratic Party in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects Volume 1, ed. Olajire. A. Bamisaye and Olu Awofeso (Lagos: Mac Grace Publisher, 2011), 80–81; Opoku-Mensah Paul Yaw. “Whither Africa’s Civil Society?” Development Innovation and International Political Economy Research (DIIPER), (Alborg University, Denmark, Working Paper No. 18, 2009).

  43. 43.

    Michael Bratton. “Civil Society and Political Transition in Africa”, Institute of Development Research (IDR) Reports 11(6) (1994): 7.

  44. 44.

    Gloria Somolekae. Democracy, Civil Society and Governance in Africa: The Case of Botswana, (1998), 4.

  45. 45.

    E Gyimah-Boadi. Democratic Reform in Africa: the Quality of Progress (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2004).

  46. 46.

    Majeed Mohammed. “Civil Society and Democratic Consolidation in Africa: A Comparative Study of Ghana and Nigeria.” (Msc. Thesis Public Policy, Central Europe University, 2011), 20–21.

  47. 47.

    Yacouba Kone. “Lesson from Mali’s Arab Spring: Why Democracy Must Work for the Poor.” (Christian Aid Occasional Paper Number 8, 2012), 7.

  48. 48.

    Alioune Sall. “Reflections on Civil Society Driven Change: An Overview.” Discourses on Civil Society in Kenya, The African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF), (Nairobi, Kenya, 2009), 2–3.

  49. 49.

    Mark Robinson and Steven Friedman. “Civil Society, Democratization and Foreign Aid in Africa.” (Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Discussion Paper 385, 2005), 34.

  50. 50.

    International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law. (n.d). http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/library/index.php.

  51. 51.

    Ismail Nuhu. “Democratic Consolidation in Africa: The Role of Civil Society Organizations.” (An Unpublished Work, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences, University of Applied Sciences, 2011), 15.

  52. 52.

    Jeanne Elone. “Backlash against Democracy: The Regulation of Civil Society in Africa.” Centre for Democracy and Civil Society, Georgetown University, 7(2) (2010): 5.

  53. 53.

    Darren Kew and Modupe Oshikoya. “Escape from Tyranny: Civil Society and Democratic Struggles in Africa.” In The Handbook of Civil Society in Africa, ed. E. Obadare (New York: Springer Sciences, 2014), 9.

  54. 54.

    Margaret K. Chemengich. “The Prospect of Civil Society Driven Change in Kenya,” Discourses on Civil Society in Kenya.” The African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF), (Nairobi, Kenya, 2009), 25.

  55. 55.

    Mabolaje. M. Fadakinte. “Historicizing Civil Society in Africa: An Analysis of the State, Democracy and the Third Sector.” Canada Social Science, 11(3) (2015): 137.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria

    Dele Seteolu

  2. Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria

    James Okuneye

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  1. Dele Seteolu
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  2. James Okuneye
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba

  2. Department of History, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

    Toyin Falola

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Seteolu, D., Okuneye, J. (2018). Civil Society Organizations and Democratic Governance in Africa. In: Oloruntoba, S., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Politics, Governance and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95232-8_25

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