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This paper initiates a novel discourse advocating for the anti-colonization of religious education (RE) in Africa South of the Sahara (ASoS). It illustrates how anti-colonial critiques can not only offer more precise theoretical perspectives but also generate a practical imperative for a paradigm shift in a school subject "still" influenced by what I have labeled as the neocoloniality of power. In some countries, attempts to decolonize RE through multi-faithism are being forsaken, reverting the subject to the Christonormativity of the colonial era. The paper contends that the process of reconceptualizing RE with an anti-colonial mindset should inspire innovative ideas for an anti-colonized RE aligned with the educational goals in an African postcolonial environment.

Purpose: This paper aims to confront some of the many facets of academic freedom as a whole, including the shared concerns with Western academia, its relationship to the politics of Arab society and the relevance of these issues within local political domains. It attempts to profile the problems hindering societal progress beyond the seemingly defined truth. While this subject has many facets, this article only examines academic freedom within the scope of knowledge and inquiry derived from the revered text of the Qur'an, including its relation to democracy and radicalism. It is an effort to refocus Arab intellectual dialogue on its ailing academia. It also argues for Arab society to reclaim its core culture of Islam as an enabler of learning aside from the Eurocentric perspective of academic freedom. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses an expository and persuasive format in its novel perspective. This expository form sets out the argument of academic freedom as being indigenous to Arab-Islamic heritage and pursues a persuasive statement for its resolution. This format outlines the main familiar aspects of academic freedom and lays out its components within Arab-Islamic history. Findings: This paper provides insights and arguments supporting its main theory. It suggests that Arabs must judiciously consider what their education will look like and accomplish in the next 100 years, considering the sociopolitical status quo and the chances of changing it. It argues that academic freedom is indigenous to Arab-Islamic early history, academia and knowledge governance. Therefore, Arab academia must not ignore its heritage to examine what hinders education and intellectualism. It concludes with the point that reinstalling a culture of knowledge will create a relevant democracy. Research limitations/implications: The implications for research, practice and society are vast. Further academic freedom research would redefine terms of processes, change the role of academic leadership, debunk locally dominated politics, introduce learning-first policies, balance inequalities in gender, abolish academic tribalism and move past colonialist ideas and predominance. For researchers, this point of view would open doors for new scholastic approaches. Practical implications: This paper includes practical implications that stem from an approach that would provoke practical possibilities and call for more academic conversations. Further conversations should explore and debate the gaps in Arab-Islamic knowledge history. The Global South of the Arab World or the Middle East and Northern Africa/Southwest Asia North Africa region could consider drafting a contemporary MENA account of a Magna Charta Libertatis Academicae or a Magna Charta Universitatum that is galvanized by Arab revivable heritage. Moreover, It would be productive if Western universities that operate in the Arab World would also take an active role in denouncing undemocratic practices and not merely operate as commercial enterprises. Social implications: Realizing academic freedom in Arab institutions will have a positive spillover effect on Arab society, including thriving and free media, freedom of speech and gender issues. Academic freedom is one of the main elements in structuring free political culture that adhere to the principles of tolerance. Academic freedom is necessary for showing all contesting ideas in a better light and, ultimately, achieving a form of intellectual equipoise. Originality/value: This paper concerns academic freedom in the Arab-Islamic World. The majority of academic freedom scholarship today assumes a Western democratic context in discussing or even arguing against it. The paper's focus is a novel expansion of that literature.

An emerging discourse contends that China has become a willing collaborator for digital technology abuse through substantial investments in Africa’s digital infrastructure, thus leaving digital power at the discretion of unstable African governments. However, it is unclear whether Chinese companies are willing collaborators with autocratic regimes in advancing China’s model of digital authoritarianism in the African continent. Despite the need to better understand the changing dynamics of China’s role in aiding authoritarian regimes through digital technologies, research that responds to these concerns remains empirically understudied and under-conceptualised. The central question this paper addresses is: How does China’s model of digital authoritarianism affect autocratic politics and the trajectory of authoritarian regimes in Africa? The article’s primary objective is to investigate allegations that China is promoting its internet model, which includes censorship and restrictions, through digital investments in African countries. A related aim is to examine how African governments have abused their digital infrastructure to undermine their electoral processes and roll back democratic gains made since the early 1990s. In grappling with these concerns, part of this paper’s contribution is to explore critical practices and meanings of power that appear to have produced trajectories towards digital authoritarianism in Africa. The paper’s main departure point is the proposition that democratic rollbacks can be only partially understood by tracing China’s digital footprints on the continent. The article finds proliferating discourses that China is exporting an authoritarian digital authoritarianism model to Africa misleading. Instead, the evidence suggests that African autocracies are exploiting the adoption of China’s model of the internet to roll back democratic gains through surveillance and censorship of civil liberties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the social and spill-over benefits as motivating factors to investment in formal education in selected countries in Africa. The paper had three objectives, namely) to profile the key statistics of formal schooling; ii) examine the formal education and iii) link national goals of education with expectations in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda. The major contention of the paper is that investment in education is not a matter of random choice but rather an imperative led by the fact that education holds returns and externalities to the largest society. Authors reviewed theory of human capital, local and international publications on social and spill over benefits of education focusing on Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda. The analysis of government policies and other publications from these three African nations have shown that education is considered as a key sector in these developing nations. Nevertheless, the researchers found out that mostly only primary and secondary education are distinctively accorded considerable public financial resources which might be associated with the countries limited financial ability, competitive needs, national and global trends. However, the fact that Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda strive to become democratic, self-reliant and middle income nations by conquering long terms set visions in which caliber manpower, welfare, self-employment, reduced social inequalities, increase in average income, knowledge based society, ICT driven and sustainable economy are key characteristics; it is imperative to invest substantially in TVET and higher education. It is also recommended that Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda put in place strong institutions that objectively, effectively and rationally ensure the efficient use of all available resources towards maximum educational outputs.

The transition from one-party rule and other forms of authoritarianism to multiparty democracy in the 1990s has had a profound impact on the organisation and role of student politics in Africa. Against the background of student involvement in African politics in the twentieth century, leading up to student participation in Africa's "second liberation" in the early 1990s, the paper analyses the organisation of student governments, student representation in institutional and national governance, student unionism and the emergence of political parties in student politics in the 2000s. Proceeding from Munene's argument regarding a shift in oppositional politics in Africa away from students to multiparty politics, this paper finds that party politics is also increasingly implicated in African student politics with varied results. The paper concludes by proposing a tentative framework for understanding the impact of high levels of resource exchange between student leaders and political parties on student representation.

This essay offers a critical review of Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ani's article 'On agreed action without agreed notions.' Ani's paper makes a critique of Kwasi Wiredu's consensual democracy to the conclusion that though desirable, left the way it is, the model of consensus on which the idea of Wiredu's non-party democracy was founded is itself admirable but defective and, therefore, calls for further enhancements. While not suggesting that Wiredu's idea is perfect, this paper provides some objections to Ani's view without necessarily aiming to make an apologetic defence of Wiredu. In the process, this paper, employing a critical conversation method, examines the most salient criticisms of Ani against Wiredu to the conclusion that Ani's suggestion, by which he has opened up a new horizon in understanding human nature and assisting in making scholarly post-deliberation analysis, is impracticable. That is, it is still practically incapable of necessarily impacting any significant value to the process involved in attaining consensus itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mission schools in Africa in the first half of the twentieth century were in many ways microcosms of the great educational debates of the times. The objectives of policies regarding access, governance and curriculum were part of a historical evolution of mission education but they were also increasingly a reflection of significant new trends that were to reshape the theory and practice of colonial education. New forms of educational research and professional expertise were to play an ever-increasing role in shaping the forms and content of the education provided. The brief of the mission churches was to meet with the increasing demand for schooling. Church and state gradually expanded their cooperation in the field as the costs of education outstripped the resources of the missions and the demand for mass education came to be linked to nationalist demands for political and economic rights. This paper is concerned to map the background to those international influences that shaped the policy and practices of mission education and the increasing engagement of colonial governments with the field of education. It addresses the question of the worldwide Protestant mission church's response to the changing political, social and economic environment of the first half of the twentieth century. In particular it seeks to explore how mission initiatives shaped thinking about education in Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America by the 1930s. It also attempts to situate those issues within a wider educational framework by linking them to the emergent debate concerning pragmatism and utilitarianism in regard to progressive education in the USA and the quest for social democratic education in the United Kingdom and Europe as part of a response to socialism, nationalism and totalitarianism. In short, the paper explores the influence of the Christian mission churches with regard to social policy, in general, and the provision of education, in particular, during the interwar years, with special reference to areas influenced by the work of the International Missionary Council. At a time when there was a crisis of support for "foreign missions" how did the debates between fundamentalist-evangelicals and supporters of a "social gospel" transform themselves into debates regarding the role of missions in non-Western societies? And how did these essentially ecclesiastical/theological issues come to influence public policy, specifically educational policy, in the long term? The conclusions are that mission churches had a very significant influence on the shaping of educational thinking in the colonial and imperial context at a time when state influence in the sector was still often quite weak. The origins of the conference and research culture that has informed educational policy since the establishment of the United Nations Organization had its roots in the broad context of the Charter of the League of Nations, with a meeting of religious and secular goals, prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Between 1910 and 1939 there was a significant history of educational reform and community development that has only been partially documented in relation to its global significance. This is an attempt to build a framework for understanding the nature of those changes and what was achieved. The investigation is conducted through an exploration of the three great World Mission Conferences of the International Missionary Council (IMC) held at Edinburgh (1910), Jerusalem (1928) and Tambaram, India (1938). The attempts of Christian churches to engage with dramatic social changes associated with industrialisation, urbanisation, poverty, cultural change and the rise of anti-colonialism, with specific regard to the field of educational policy, are documented and analysed. (Contains 5 boxes and 114 footnotes.)

The case of Africa, in terms of development and democratic prospects, is encountering a number of hurdles that are stubborn, and are even getting increasingly more difficult to overcome. This paper, while agreeing with a number of leading Africanists who are calling for the efficient repair of Africa's political systems without which, I concur, other components of the national and continental enterprises may not function effectively, calls for the establishment of citizenship education programs that must strengthen Africa's partially fledgling but, in many cases, faltering new democracies. The paper cautions about accepting liberal democracy at face value and sees the possibility of selectively Africanizing democracy so it fits the needs as well as the expectations of the African public. The paper also recognizes that even if democracy may not always effectively respond to the needs of the people, its critical appreciation, via viable programs of citizenship, will, in the long run, produce better results for Africa's marginalized hundreds of millions.

Purpose: This paper aims to make a theoretical critique of the revolutionary sociocultural transformations created by e-learning in the manner knowledge is created, codified, retrieved, managed and transmitted across the boundaries of different cultures. Design/methodology/approach: The structure of these transformations remains European and North American in orientation and very cautious in sharing the benefits of e-learning with the developing societies. The paper contends that this might lead to a parallel academic bureaucracy of e-learning institutions, alongside the traditional Western universities, making it economically hard for people of developing countries to participate in this great and new found experience of learning. The paper proposes a, "democratization of knowledge," for this new venture of e-learning. This rests on the premise, that e-learning, in order to be truly effective, must be multilingual in content and context, culturally divergent, morally relativistic and technologically sharing and integrate non-Western views on knowledge, morality, economics and politics, especially in curriculum designs. Findings: The paper demonstrates that the social democratization of knowledge can lead to the establishment of viable global civil society, helping millions in Asia, Africa and South America to contribute and share the fruits of knowledge explosion in a just, equitable and honorable fashion. Originality/value: The paper shows how e-learning can help the growth and improvement of less developed communities.

This paper begins by discussing the relationship between democracy and development in Africa and the Gambia in particular. It then examines the potential role of the school inspectorate in the Gambia in helping to put education for democracy on a sustainable footing. The inspectorate not only evaluate and advise teachers but also provide ongoing support and monitoring. This paper describes a project which explored whether democratic practice could be integrated into the work of inspectors and discusses evidence on both its possible impact and general issues concerning democracy and education in the Gambia.

This paper problematises globalisation and the democratisation of the research imagination, highlighting the potentials for harm and good. We do so, first, by exploring two philosophical/epistemological issues: the definition of "knowledge" and the role of "research" in knowledge creation. The paper then considers some of possible consequences of the democratisation of knowledge by examining the case of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and using it to test a heuristic device we have developed as a way of distinguishing between "really useful" and "potentially harmful" knowledges. (Contains 1 table.)

In democratic societies the level of citizens' civic engagement and inclusion in all forms of democratic participation is crucial in maintaining social cohesion and a vibrant democracy. In the historical development of Canada's demographic, political, socio-economic and cultural systems, immigration continues to play an influential role. Our paper presents conceptions of civic participation held by, inclusion and integration of recent African immigrants to Canada. We focus on volunteerism as one form of democratic participation. The findings show immigrants volunteer for the common good of society, making a difference, personal self-service gaining experience for advancement in their host society. Some are coerced into volunteering. Some of these findings concur with theoretical literature that positions various volunteering motives, bringing up implications for federal agencies involved in the settlement, adaptation programs for newcomers and educational curriculum planners attempting to widen conceptions of volunteerism, fostering engagement and promotion of citizenship education in general. (Contains 3 tables.)

Neopatrimonialism is a conceptual framework frequently used to analyse state politics. This paper reviews objectivist and positivist literature to ascertain the relevance of neopatrimonialism in analysing African state politics. It defines neopatrimonialism following the Weberian model, as the coexistence of a legal-rational domination and a patrimonial domination over the state. The paper reviews neopatrimonialism through the evolution of the African state since colonisation. It uses the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset to assess the prevalence of neopatrimonialism across the world and within Africa. It assesses two propositions to conclude that there can be a "developmental neopatrimonialism" if its practices are regulated but that, inversely, "predatory neopatrimonialism" hinders development. Additionally, the detrimental effect of neopatrimonialism on democracy is ambiguous and democratisation can promote or hinder neopatrimonialism. The paper concludes that neopatrimonialism is a useful research concept if it is specific and able to account for the diversity of practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addressing issues related to problems of democratisation in Africa, this paper attempts to relate the issue to the need for citizenship education and the role that can play in social development. Citizenship should be central to the formation of viable civil societies that claim a tangible stake in national public spaces in post-Cold War Africa. These and related topics are discussed relative to new possibilities that could lead to the full realisation of the concept as well as the practice of enfranchised citizenship and inclusive social development in aspiring democracies in the Sub Saharan African context. The complexity of the development "problematique" that Sub-Saharan Africa is facing is unique in that it is multi-dimensional, but above all else, politically located. It is, therefore, central to our discussions here that to correct the continent's current schemes of underdevelopment, pragmatic schemes of governance must be achieved. To do that, we are suggesting, new possibilities of citizenship education should be formulated for the general African scene in general, and for democratising but still both institutionally and economically weakened Zambia.

This paper examines the importance of, and variations in, political alignment within African regimes. Political alignment is how leaders establish sufficient political support across elites: we posit that formal appointments are the primary way that leaders manipulate political coalitions in order to secure their collective authority and tenure. Appointments, individually and collectively, can take on multiple characteristics: they can create inclusive or exclusive coalitions, transactional or loyal support, volatile or stable elite networks. Appointment powers have greater salience since governments institutionalized and formalized in governance systems across democratic and autocratic states. Manipulating who holds and secures power at the subnational and national levels, rather than repressive control or state capacity, underpins the stability, security, and survival of modern African regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the development and climate crisis of the Anthropocene, world leaders at the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York have reconfirmed the urgency of a sustainability transformation. This paper shows how a strong conceptualisation of sustainability can guide scientists in contributing to this transformation. The Eastern and Southern Africa Partnership Programme (1999-2015) offers experiences in framing and implementing research as a transdisciplinary future-forming process. Its procedural, reflexive programme design proved adequate to support the democratisation of knowledge generation. This fostered evidence-based contextualised knowledge and corresponding institutions, and strengthened the future-forming capacity of all partners involved.

Democracy is a political system that has some universal appeal, and, this seems to invest it with some kind of legitimacy over other systems of government. But this in no way suggests that it is homogenously conceived or practiced across the world—particularly in Western and African countries. Yet there is some supposition that some cultures have (almost) perfected their practice of democracy while others are learning its rudiments. This tends to arouse the philosopher's interest in the conceptual and practical bases for the supposition. In African philosophy, the notion of consensus has often been touted as a kernel and mēnsūra for evidence of democracy in traditional African thought. This paper examines the propriety of this move, taking into account the specific positions of the Ghanaian philosophers, Kwasi Wiredu and Kwame Gyekye. It explores the political dynamics of contemporary Africa and brings out the challenges and prospects for the sort of democracy that is being practiced—or, at least, is said to be practiced—in Africa. It is often debated in African political thought whether consensus or majoritarian rule (characterized by such activities as voting and multipartism) defines democracy, but the paper argues that neither of them really brings about democracy. It then highlights the humanistic end of democracy. Using the Ghanaian experience especially, the paper proposes ways of improving the understanding and practice of democracy in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On balance, Africa generally has made some progress in good governance under liberal, multiparty democracy in the past two or three decades. But there are well‐noted, wide‐ranging dysfunctions in governance, which inhibit human development and fulfilment. Several papers have been published, which propose various solutions to the dysfunctions. Among them are proposals for types of all‐inclusive democratic politics. I examine a couple of these proposals and conclude that they generate formidable feasibility challenges, even for the types of democracy they advocate. This paper focuses on Ghana, but with a thrust intended to have import for the sustainability of democracy across Africa. The argument is basically that the operating democratic constitutions in Africa provide a normatively desirable liberal, multiparty democracy, which promises a reasonably good life for all without exception; but practice has resulted in enduring, multiple deprivations and low standards of living for millions of citizens. The reason for the undesirably wide gap between the ideal and the practice is not because multiparty democracy is inconsistent with African traditions or is otherwise not good for Africans, as some scholars claim, but because of those who tend to run it—their general incompetence, including or marked by their intellectual and ethical inability to rise above partisan limitations and failure to leverage the efficiencies of the free market system. The proposed solution for Ghana, intended to eliminate or significantly mitigate the dysfunctions just mentioned and to sustain the multiparty democracy, is to redesign the National Development Planning Commission (NPDC), a constitutional organ which serves the partisan executive, into a robust, non‐partisan, independent institution, anchored on the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances, to enable it to do at least the following two things: (a) to produce, with representation from key stakeholders, including political parties, technocratically objective, competent, efficient and accountable rolling and all‐inclusive National Development Plans (NDPs) in place of vote‐inspired and partisan manifestoes, with budgets approved by parliament; and (b) to monitor, evaluate and report on the governing party's implementation of the NDPs to parliament. Democracy will become sustainable as the general quality of lives grows steadily under the continuous implementation of all‐inclusive NDPs, which are to be crafted to efficiently and sustainably deliver public goods and services that serve district, regional and the common needs and interests of all Ghanaians rather than the interests of the few and powerful or, at best, of majorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this concept paper, we explore the notion of the child's right to be heard, starting in the classroom. The idea that children have unique needs has paved the way for the admission that children have a similar spectrum of rights as adults do. The notion that children are valued as citizens, and have significant contributions to make now and in the future is the foundation of the path to listening to children's voices. There has been mounting interest in the importance of listening to children's voices and their points of view. Notably, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has informed conceptions of children as capable, competent and agentic. Giving the child a voice from early childhood is possible if opportunities and environments are availed them, particularly during their early school years. However, the majority of children around the world are yet to realise their right to be heard. We posit and defend the introduction of the Matthew Lipman-initiated Philosophy for Children (P4C) programme in schools as a fertile means of nurturing children's right to have their voices heard. P4C is a critical thinking skills programme designed to contribute to the development of rational, open-minded deliberation among young children, as befits a democratic society. Our argument is that P4C's community of philosophical inquiry as pedagogy is the best approach for the development of a critical, open-minded and right-bearing citizen, capable of living according to democratic principles in twenty first century Africa.

Africans speak African languages in their everyday lives while lessons in school are delivered in an exogenous language. In many places adult education is also carried out in a language the majority of people do not speak. The exogenous languages, which are the languages of the former colonial powers and mastered just by a small African elite, are used in most parliaments in Africa and in most newspapers. This problem is largely ignored by the international community. An argument often put forward against using African languages as Languages of Instruction (LOIs) is that there are so many of them, and it may be problematic to select one as an LOI. But is this really the case? And does one need to select one language? The main work of the Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS) located in Cape Town has been to harmonise the written forms of most African languages so that these languages can be used as LOIs and as languages of government and the press. This paper examines in some detail the work undertaken by CASAS, its successes and challenges. It shows that the political process of getting the harmonised languages adopted is more difficult and unpredictable than the linguistic work itself.

Africa has been known to be the bedrock of numerous natural resources. However, it seems to be the home of the poorest of the poor in the world. Much of the situation is pathetically characterized by hunger, extreme poverty, corruption, and insecurity. All of these offer the greatest compromise to any hope of change. Aware of this scenario, this paper delves into the issue of governance as one of the crucial factors in the search for a positive change and sustainable development in Africa. It employs a conceptual approach in its critical inquiry into these issues. With illustrative examples, practical reflections are made on the essential elements of governance and how they are co-related to development. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are drawn on two grounds. First, there is need to re-examine Africa's internal structures and systems. Nevertheless, there should also be openness to point out and radically depart from detrimental structures. Secondly, in addressing the question of governance for sustainable development, Africa must be vigilant in distinguishing between destructive and constructive external influences in her policy formulation and implementation.

Electoral violence is a persistent phenomenon in Africa. Studies reveal that no single election has been held in Africa without incidents of violence. There is a surge of interest in electoral violence as an academic field, although still in its infancy. The existing literature on electoral violence primarily focuses on the concept, causes, impact and prevention mechanisms. Nevertheless, the question as to why electoral violence persists is inadequately addressed. This paper engages varied literature on electoral violence to uncover why electoral violence persists in Africa. I argue that although the literature provides diverse explanations on electoral violence in Africa, institutional account, particularly the consolidation of democratic institutions, is the most plausible explanation for why electoral violence persists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African Union is emerging as a prominent actor in election assistance and observation. Considering the continued centrality of the electoral process to democracy-building efforts in Africa, African continental and regional organisations are increasingly monitoring elections and taking the lead in election observation processes across the continent. This paper contributes to the African agency literature by showing how agency is operationalised and implemented through international election observation. Focusing on Malawi's recent electoral history (2004–2020), this paper argues that the African Union is institutionalising its election observation protocols and challenging the dominant position of western international actors, through enacting the role and agency of continental and regional actors. It critically assesses the African Union's ability to undertake these efforts and how it has addressed elections, and the politics surrounding them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most parts of the world today, the goal of providing all children with free and Universal Primary Education (UPE) has received broad national and international support and some educational systems have evolved from predominantly "fee-charging" towards "fee-free" status in recent times. In Ghana, for example, the endorsement of Education for All (EFA) and millennium development goals (MDGs) agreements coupled with commitment to internal constitutional reforms have resulted in the initiation of the Free Compulsory Universal, Basic Education (fCUBE) policy. Dishearteningly however, in many low-income countries (including Ghana), verbal commitments to these laudable social goals do not appear to be translated into the needed changes in policy and practice. This article draws on a case study of the fCUBE policy implementation to provide insights into the complexities involved in operationalising UPE policy initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. The methodological approach involved the critical discourse analysis of interviews with Ghanaian education officials who mediate policy at the "meso-level". Owing to the commitments of the fCUBE policy to enhancing the educational opportunities and outcomes for the socially and economically disadvantaged, the paper sees it (i.e. the fCUBE policy) as deeply rooted in social democracy. However, it is argued that as long as there is a blurring in meaning of the intentions encapsulated in its title, primary education in Ghana cannot be said to be "free", "compulsory" and "universal". It is concluded that accentuating policy purposes in low-income countries is not inherently problematic but that the challenges lie with how the intentions and provisions of policy are conceptualised and operationalised in context.

Political governance and quality management are often contested concepts, meaning different things to different people; and often their meanings have shifted historically. The collapse of the governance system behind the iron curtain countries triggered an avalanche in international politics and instituted new governance and management system to fit within the evolving political dispensation of the 21st century. Even in the post-cold war era, the political sociology of the greater part of the continent began to acquire a mournful guise of repetitive failure. The reality, as the facts show, is one where the nature of society has failed to meet the requirements of the democratic and parliamentary models by which the New-States are supposed to function. We must appreciate that 50 years in the life of a nation is a short period. We should not expect Africa to accomplish within this relatively short period what took the currently democratic states to achieve. Even within this defeatist or pessimistic view, there is a reality of optimism of progress though slow that points towards increasing democratisation and eventual public participation in governance, as well as important modes for integration into global systems of information, technology, knowledge and commerce, bode well for the acceleration of African development in the 21st century. The demand for drastic changes in the state system within this short period may be asking too much. After all, what the old democracies exhibit today took them thousands of years to accomplish. Taking just a couple of examples, women in Switzerland received their rights to vote not long ago. Comparatively, African States have made tremendous strides in this area. Rwanda, a decade after the genocide, has the highest number in the world of women representation in parliament. This does not mean that the plight of women in Africa is resolved. Women are still marginalized in spite of them commanding almost 52 percent of the population on the continent. No one is advocating the adoption of a Rostow "stages of development" approach for Africa. The strides made so far by Africa are due to advances in science and technology, which enable the continent to move forward more rapidly than the West did. Africans are equally contributing to advances in science and technology--the Internet for example, which is an African invention. This paper addresses pertinent issues--governance and consolidating the democratic process--and why the people need a stronger involvement. Power belongs to the people. Democracy belongs to the people. The State must create the enabling and levelling playground for civil society to be an integral part of the governance process. The conceptual frame builds on system thinking approach and conflict management maintaining that participation, partnership and responsibility sharing provides the best way for building a Strong State capable of meeting its obligations to the people. Proactive strategies policy measures are advanced as the way forward to reconstructing and reconstituting a viable State that is first and foremost people-oriented, that is inclusive and with an open governance system that creates choices and possibilities for its citizens. (Contains 1 figure.)

In this paper, the author examines how colonial racist policies and western-bound post-colonial educational practices have contributed to the recurring ethnic conflicts in the Great Lakes region of Africa. After defining democracy and reflective citizenship within the African context, she discusses how teachers' roles should be redefined and pedagogy revamped within a multicultural perspective in order to prepare students to become reflective citizens who are empowered to reframe interethnic relations in the region beyond the pervasive majority rights and minority protection discourse.

Lifelong learning has come to be internationally recognized as a framework in the development of sustainable education. However, in spite of rhetoric and its endorsement in some nations' policy documents, lifelong learning is not operationalized and Africa continues to be plagued by social maladies such as HIV/AIDS, capacity poverty, low quality education, global marginalization and ineffective governance. The article argues that post-colonial Africa transited from concern with service delivery, went through structural adjustment policies to focusing on African renaissance. It indicates that some countries have embraced lifelong learning as policy framework but have not made sufficient efforts to translate that in their teaching and learning. It contends that lifelong learning in Africa can only be effective if African communities are encouraged to make concerted efforts to embrace principles such as deliberative democracy, multiculturalism, decentralization of decision-making and helping to redirect the agenda of civil society as a way to use lifelong learning to enhance public participation in Africa.

This essay argues that offering African American students an African-centered education is one way to promote social justice in public education. We begin with a summary of the inadequate educations offered to many African American students, and then use philosophical interpretations of equal educational opportunity to delineate the requirements of participation in a democracy. From this position, we contend that forms of schooling that teach subordination and alienation undermine democratic participation--the ability to advocate for one's best interests and accord others respect for doing likewise--and that this is unjust. One way to counter social injustice and regain a sense of community and ethnic self-worth is African-centered education, which we describe.

This article examines Kwasi Wiredu's arguments on democracy and consensus. In Cultural Universals and Particulars, Wiredu presented consensual democracy as a better means of decision-making process than majoritarian democracy in traditional African life and governance. He defended this claim with two main arguments: (i) that consensus takes care of the interests of the minority, and (ii) that consensual democracy permits substantive representations. Contrary to Wiredu's claim, this article argues that the implication or challenges of majoritarian democracy identified by Wiredu do not necessarily (i) undermine majoritarian democracy, and (ii) make Wiredu's suggested decision by consensus a workable means of decision-making in present African society. Our aim in this paper is not to defend majoritarian democracy as a plausible position; rather, the bulk of the paper is devoted to a critical assessment of Wiredu's defense of consensual democracy. The paper argues that at a certain level of discussion, Wiredu's idea of consensus (consensual democracy) shares some similarities and also faces similar challenges to (majoritarian) democracy. The paper concludes that, logically speaking, democracy and consensus are not mutually exclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the struggles of the South African government to establish school-wide evaluation policies within post-apartheid institutions. It is demonstrated that even when such evaluation policies promise teacher development and whole-school improvement, there is significant resistance to government intervention in the school environment. It is also shown that even when individual schools express a willingness to participate in such evaluation actions, they remain deeply suspicious of, and even subvert, the original goals of these policies. The explanation for such behaviour is lodged within the troubled history of the apartheid inspection system, on the one hand, and on the underestimation in policy design of the deep-rooted suspicions of state surveillance systems even under the terms of a new democracy. In conclusion, the article shows how this fierce -- though understandable -- contestation of school-level autonomy actually works against the long-term developmental interests of both teachers and learners in South Africa's 29,000 schools.

This paper empirically examines whether Africa's low corruption agenda can be achieved amid election cycles. We employ country-level data from 36 African countries covering the period 1998–2020. Using fixed effects, random effects and dynamic panel data regressions, our results suggest that in election years, increment in government expenditure is associated with higher corruption perception while increment in real GDP growth lowers corruption perception than in non-election years. On regional differences, the effect of election cycles on corruption perception was found to be greater in southern part of Africa than the rest of the sub-regions. These findings may have important implications for policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the violent context in which many African schools have existed (war, violent military oppression, and resistance). Explores the context of structural violence (debt, economic decline, and poverty) and its effects on education and argues that schools themselves have often been violent places, though recent democratic political developments are beginning to have positive effects on the nature of education. (SM)

The debates on hate speech regulation have divided scholars and practitioners. While the liberals largely argue that hate speech ban is anti-democratic and counter-productive for preservation of fundamental human rights, the humanists posit that hate speech is harmful and its regulation is relevant in order to avert the collateral damage/harm it inflicts on human dignity and equality of human beings. Despite the significant efforts in Africa to regulate hate speech, its debates focus on United States and Western Europe. Thus, the account of hate speech regulation in African context is largely understudied. This study therefore examines the impact state regulation of hate speech on sustainable democracy in Africa. Using the qualitative dominant mixed methods approach and data generated from Nigeria and Kenya, the paper argues that state regulation of hate speech presents an opportunity for fostering order, advancing national cohesion, reducing hate speech and promoting inclusive governance for all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion and economic status. The paper concludes that implementing hate speech legislation alongside other non-legal, dialogue-based, egalitarian, voluntary approaches are relevant for diminishing hate speech and the harms it engender as well as promoting sustainable democracy in Africa and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remittances have become one of the most important sources of household income in developing countries, empowering recipients to be more politically independent. Using a dynamic estimator and panel data for 84 developing countries over the 1982–2011 period, this paper investigates the effect that remittances have on political institutions. Controlling for country and time fixed effects and using an exogenous source of variation to instrument remittances, the baseline results show that remittances start having a positive effect on democratic institutions when remittances reach 22% of GDP. This evidence suggests that remittances can influence the relationship between recipients and political elites, providing incentives for recipient households to hold their political representatives more accountable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examined the polemic between the advocates of democracy, development and dictatorship. It exposed the philosophical foundation of democracy, development and maintained that democratic principles could facilitate development within the African continent. This argument is supported by the claim that the process and outcome of democratic practice are likely to bring about development aimed at improving the living standard of citizens in the society. The paper further maintained that the likely way by which democracy can be seen to be worthwhile is when it is geared towards societal development. Finally, the paper affirmed that since the two concepts of democracy and development are like the Siamese twins set to better the wellbeing of citizens, then the way out of Africa's present crisis of development is to embrace democracy and its principles in practice properly. It concluded that only when a deliberate attempt is made at the practice of proper democratic principles with all sense of purpose that sustainable development can be attained on the continent of Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberal democracy is the most affectionate and all-embracing de facto and de jure form of constitutional governance worldwide. Unrepentant authoritarian regimes and other pseudo-democracies across Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa also purports to practice democracy and its imperatives. This is to achieve regime legitimacy and catch the eye of the proponents of democracy around the world. In the unique case of Africa, metropolitan states customarily evaluate the democratic credentials of peripheral states as a sine qua non to accessing international financial assistance. It is envisaged by proponents of democracy that its practice is the sidekick to national development, prosperity and human development. This paper is a reflection that thematically interrogates the efficacy of democracy as a coherent dissilient to Africa's development. It concludes that, the argument of liberal democracy being pivotal to Africa's development is dispiritingly distant and a hyperbole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]