Abstract
Democratic values have always been an integral part of African precolonial governance. Great Kingdoms relied on democratic checks, consensus building, social justice, participation, and consultation as elements of governance (Gyekye, 1992: 241; Muna, 2006: 6). Even though the systems contained glaring shortcomings which allows for authoritarian regimes to thrive in several kingdoms (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2008), they nonetheless successfully held many groups and communities together. The abuse of indigenous democracy by latter-day postindependent converts has not diminished its historical significance and relevance as a people-driven process in Africa. The anticolonial struggle, which was actively supported by the people, derived its legitimacy from the fight against authoritarian governance and the clamor for democratic governance. The dawn of independence however heralded democratic reversals in many African states, with most of them finding refuge in one-party rule, one-man dictatorships, military rule, and pseudo-democratic governance. Authoritarian governance bred political alienation and subjugation of the people, which in turn bred underdevelopment, the outcome of which was strong regimes superintending over weak states.
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Bolaji, K.A. (2015). Regional Organizations and Democratization in Africa: The ECOWAS Experience. In: Adejumobi, S. (eds) Democratic Renewal in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137484345_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137484345_8
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