CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2014
| Author | Hessebon, Gedion Timothewos |
|---|---|
| Title | Contextualizing Constitutionalism: Multi-Party Democracy in the African Political Matrix |
| Summary | The last two decades and half represent the longest spell of multi-party democracy in most African countries. The transition to democratic rule that begun in the early 1990’s has not given way to the complete and categorical backsliding to autocratic rule which many countries in the continent had experienced in the mid-sixties and seventies. However, despite the staying power multiparty democracy has shown since the 1990’s in Africa, its fate has not been very rosy. The return to democracy has been hampered to a great extent by the prevalence of abuse of incumbency as well as by ethnic conflicts. In this dissertation, the author argues that there are certain structural factors in the demographic composition, political economy and history of many African countries which form a political matrix that is hostile to multi-party democracy. The prevalence of antagonistic relations and competition among ethnic groups as well as the problem of abuse of incumbency emanate from this political matrix. The main contention of this dissertation is that to respond to these problems and optimize the chances of robust and enduring democracies in Africa, there is a need for contextualizing constitutionalism. Contextualizing constitutionalism requires understanding the adverse effect of the African political matrix on multiparty democracy and designing constitutions that try to fortify constitutional democracy from the threats that emanate from these effects. Contextualization of constitutionalism is the process through which the generic concept of constitutionalism could be adapted, expanded and effectively deployed to meet the needs and specific circumstances of parts of the world which have political environments different from parts of the world where the concept of constitutionalism historically originated from. To study empirically how such contextualization might work, a comparative case study has been undertaken. The countries covered in this case study, namely Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya have all experienced the problems mentioned earlier to varying degrees. The constitutions of these countries have also been used to address these problems with different levels of success. Comparing the constitutional strategies of these four countries in dealing with abuse of incumbency and ethnicity, we can see that contextualizing constitutionalism indeed makes a difference in sustaining multiparty democracy and enhancing its quality. Specifically, clear and detailed rules prohibiting abuse of incumbency, well entrenched term limit provisions for the head of the executive, reinforcing separation of powers and checks and balances, establishing independent bodies to support constitutional democracy and enhance horizontal accountability are useful ways of minimizing abuse of incumbency. When it comes to problems related with ethnicity, using territorial decentralization, the electoral system, the form of government, affirmative action and political party regulation regimes to foster recognition of ethnic groups and national integration seem to be necessary. These instruments should be carefully calibrated in such a way that the balances will tilt towards integration without denying recognition to ethnic diversity and the need to address historical injustices. Such a careful mix of integration and accommodation is likely to avoid instability and the collapse of the democratic order. Looking beyond the countries covered in the case studies, we can observe that these approaches of dealing with abuse of incumbency and ethnicity are finding their way into constitutions that are being made in the latest constitution making wave in Africa. With increasing migration of constitutional ideas among African countries, the contextualization of constitutionalism is increasingly attaining a continental character. This character is underpinned by the need to ensure democratic governability and stability while checking hegemonic executives and stemming off ethnic conflict which is a common imperative in most sub-Saharan African countries. While the emphasis on these issues distinguishes African constitutionalism from western constitutionalism- by virtue of the fact that contextualization of constitutionalism is still an attempt to have a system of government that is democratic and liberal- there is a great deal of commonality between western and African constitutionalism. |
| Supervisor | Professor Renata Uitz |
| Department | Legal Studies PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2014/hessebon_gedion.pdf |
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