The discourse on democracy and good governance in Africa: whither development?

Adelaja Odutola Odukoya and Adeolu Oluwaseyi Oyekan

Chapter 5 in The Elgar Companion to Democracy and Development in Africa, 2026, pp 83-98 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The discourse on democracy and good governance in Africa reveals the inherent contradictions between liberal democracy and the continent‘s socio-economic realities. Bjorn Beckman's distinction between liberal, bourgeois, and popular democracy highlights the limitations of the Western democratic model imposed on Africa, which often prioritizes juridical rights and periodic elections over substantive rights and people-centered governance. With reference to Dudley Seers’ idea of development, we emphasize the need for democracy to be evaluated by its impact on poverty, inequality, and unemployment in order to resonate with development. This is because democracy should not only be seen as a process but as development itself. We argue that democracy is best legitimized through a people-centric governance in which the state is an active driver of development and social justice, in contrast to the technical and managerial notion of good governance championed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Keywords: Democracy; Development; Governance; People-Centric Governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035348176
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