A Theoretical Overview of Globalization

Abstract

According to Nyong’o (1992, p. 55): There is indeed a case to be put forward for democracy in Africa today. It was in reality a philosophical and a moral case, before it became a political and an economic issue. Philosophical because questions why people should subject themselves to some form of authority have always been ethical and moral. Social theories emphasize the importance of the individual in the society, and the whole purpose of social existence as being that of promoting the greatest good of the greatest number. This is done, not by submerging the individual interests or political power external to the individual, but by making the individual an active participant, consenter and creator of the total whole. For most of the past decades, African scholars have debated repeatedly the question of democratic practice in Africa, without necessarily breaking the barriers impeding its enthronement and consolidation, particularly with respect to its sustenance in countries that have achieved democracy. How did the various regional organizations in Africa ensure its sustenance across the continent and, hence, come up with a blueprint that is acceptable across the continent? A variety of reasons could be attributed for this inadequacy from a historical and logical point of view.