Abstract
Ghana and Nigeria are in the midst of government-initiated democratization programs. This paper compares the different settings, reasons, strategies, procedures, and implementation of democratization efforts in these two countries. While Nigeria's comprehensive approach to democratic planning has enabled elite continuity, it has neither assured regime stability nor enhanced state capacities. In contrast, Ghana's plan for democratic transformation, pursued in a piecemeal fashion, has resulted in regime stability and some state consolidation, but not in democratization. In both countries, there is little doubt that the unintended consequences of each approach may prove more significant than the direct results of successful policy implementation. Thus, even if the specific design for democracy may fail, the democratic project in these West African states may nevertheless be progressing.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adamolekun, Ladipo (1985). The Fall of the Second Republic. Ibadan: Spectrum Books.
Agbaje, Adigun and Jinmi Adisa (1988). ‘Political Education and Public Policy in Nigeria: The War Against Indiscipline (WAI).’ Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 26, 1: 22–37.
Agyeman-Duah, Baffour (1987). ‘Ghana, 1982–86: The Politics of the P.N.D.C.’ Journal of Modern African Studies 25, 4: 613–642.
Ahiakpor, James C. W. (1985). ‘The Success and Failure of Dependency Theory: The Experience of Ghana.’ International Organization 39, 3: 535–552.
Allen, Chris (1982). ‘Staying Put: Handy Hints for Heads of State.’ Paper Presented at the Symposium on Authority and Legitimacy in Africa, University of Stirling, May.
Anyang' Nyong'o, Peter, ed. (1987). Popular Struggles for Democracy in Africa. London: Zed Press.
Austin, Dennis (1985). ‘The Ghana Armed Forces and Ghanaian Society.’ Third World Quarterly 7, 1:97–111.
Austin, Dennis and Robin Luckham, eds. (1976). Politicians and Soldiers in Ghana. London: Frank Cass.
Awonoor, Kofi (1984). The Ghana Revolution: Background Account from a Personal Perspective. Bronx, N.Y.: Oasis Publishers.
Ayee, Joseph R. A. (1988). ‘The Provisional National Defence Council's “Blue Book” on District Political Authority and the Future of Local Government in Ghana.’ The Journal of Management Studies 4: 25–39.
Azarya, Victor and Naomi Chazan (1987). ‘Disengagement from the State in Africa: Reflections on the Experience of Ghana and Guinea.’ Comparative Studies in Society and History 19, 1: 106–131.
Babangida, Ibrahim (1987). ‘On Political Programme for the Nation.’ Lagos: Government Printer.
Beckett, Paul (1986). ‘Elections and Democracy in Nigeria,’ in Fred M. Hayward, ed. Elections in Independent Africa. Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 87–120.
Berry, Sara (1985). Fathers Work for their Sons: Accumulation, Mobility and Class Formation in an Extended Yoruba Community. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Bienen, Henry and V. P. Diejomaoh, eds. (1981). The Political Economy of Income Distribution in Nigeria. New York: Holmes and Meier.
Bing, Adotey (1984). ‘Popular Participation versus People's Power: Notes on Politics and Power Struggles in Ghana.’ Review of African Political Economy 31:91–104.
Bratton, Michael (forthcoming). ‘The State, Civil Society and Associational Life in Africa.’ World Politics.
Bayart, Jean-François (1986). ‘Civil Society in Africa,’ in Patrick Chabal, ed. Political Domination in Africa: Reflections on the Limits of Power. London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 109–125.
Busia, K. A. (1967). Africa in Search of Democracy. London: Routledge and Kegal Paul.
Callaghy, Thomas M. (1984). The State-Society Struggle: Zaire in Comparative Perspective. New York: Columbia University Press.
Callaghy, Thomas M. (1986). ‘Politics and Vision in Africa: The Interplay of Domination, Equality and Liberty,’ in Patrick Chabal, ed. Political Domination in Africa: Reflections on the Limits of Power. London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 30–52.
Charlton, Roger (1983). ‘Predicting African Military Coups.’ Futures (August): 281–291.
Chazan, Naomi (1982). ‘The New Politics of Participation in Tropical Africa.’ Comparative Politics 14, 2: 169–189.
Chazan, Naomi (1983). An Anatomy of Ghanaian Politics: Managing Political Recession, 1969–1982. Boulder: Westview Press.
Chazan, Naomi (1986). ‘The Anomalies of Continuity: Perspectives on Ghanaian Elections Since Independence,’ in Fred M. Hayward, ed. Elections in Independent Africa. Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 61–86.
Chazan, Naomi (1988). ‘Ghana: Problems of Governance and the Emergence of Civil Society,’ in Larry Diamond, Juan Linz and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. Democracy in Developing Countries: Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 93–139.
Chazan, Naomi, Robert Mortimer, John Ravenhill, and Donald Rothchild (1988). Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Coleman, James S. Nigeria: Background to Nationalism. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Collier, Ruth Berins (1982). Regimes in Tropical Africa: Changing Forms of Supremacy. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (1986). Guidelines. Accra: Government Printer.
Diamond, Larry (1982). ‘Cleavage, Conflict and Anxiety in the Second Nigerian Republic.’ Journal of Modern African Studies 20, 4: 629–668.
Diamond, Larry (1984a). ‘Nigeria: The Coup and the Future.’ Africa Report 29, 2: 9–15.
Diamond, Larry (1984b). ‘Nigeria in Search of Democracy.’ Foreign Affairs 62,4: 905–927.
Diamond, Larry (1987a). ‘Class Formation in the Swollen African State.’ Journal of Modern African Studies 25, 4: 567–596.
Diamond, Larry (1987b). ‘Issues in the Constitutional Design of a Third Nigerian Republic.’ African Affairs 86, 343: 209–226.
Diamond, Larry (1988a). Class, Ethnicity and Democracy in Nigeria: The Failure of the First Republic. London: Macmillan.
Diamond, Larry (1988b). ‘Introduction: Roots of Failure, Seeds of Hope,’ in Larry Diamond, Juan Linz and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. Democracy in Developing Countries: Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 1–32.
Diamond, Larry (1988c). ‘Nigeria: Pluralism, Statism and the Struggle for Democracy,’ in Larry Diamond, Juan Linz and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. Democracy in Developing Countries: Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 33–91.
Diamond, Larry, Juan Linz and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. (1988). Democracy in Developing Countries: Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Dunn, John (1986). ‘The Politics of Representation and Good Government in Post-Colonial Africa,’ in Patrick Chabal, ed. Political Domination in Africa: Reflections on the Limits of Power. London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 158–174.
Ekeh, Peter (1975). ‘Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement.’ Comparative Studies in Society and History 17, 1:91–112.
Ekpo, Monday, ed. (1979). Bureaucratic Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: Toward a Search for Causes and Consequences. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America.
Eliagwu, J. I. (1981). ‘Military Intervention in Politics: An African Perspective.’ Geneva-Africa 19, 1: 17–38.
Ewusi, Kodwo (1986). Statistical Tables on the Economy of Ghana, 1950–1985. Legon: Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research.
Falola, Toyin and Julius Ihonvbere (1985). The Rise and Fall of Nigeria's Second Republic, 1979–1984. London: Zed Books.
Forrest, Joshua B. (1988). ‘The Quest for State ‘Hardness’ in Africa.’ Comparative Politics 20, 4: 423–442.
Ghana, Republic of (n.d.a.). ‘Decentralisation in Ghana.’ Accra: Information Services Department.
Ghana, Republic of (n.d.b.). ‘The Search for True Democracy in Ghana.’ Accra: Information Services Department.
Ghana, Republic of (1982). PNDCL 42: Provisional National Defence Council (Establishment) Proclamation (Supplementary and Consequential Provisions) Law. Accra: Government Printer, December.
Ghana, Republic of (1983a). Economic Recovery Programme, 1984–1986. Accra: Government Printer.
Ghana, Republic of (1983b). Summary of the PNDC's Budget Statement and Economic Policy for 1983. Accra: Government Printer.
Ghana, Republic of (1987). District Political Authority and Modalities for District Level Elections. Accra: Ghana Publishing Corporation, July.
Graf, William (1989). ‘Issues and Substance in the Prescription of Liberal-Democratic Forms for Nigeria's Third Republic.’ African Affairs 88, 350: 91–100.
Gyimah-Boadi, E. and Donald Rothchild (1982). ‘Rawlings, Populism and the Civil Liberties Tradition in Ghana.’ Issue 12, 3–4: 64–69.
Hansen, Emanuel and Paul Collins (1980). ‘The Army, the State and the “Rawlings' Revolution”.’ African Affairs 79, 314: 3–23.
Hart, Keith (1982). The Political Economy of West African Agriculture. London: Cambridge University Press.
Heisler, Martin O. and B. Guy Peters (1983). ‘Scarcity and the Management of Political Conflict in Multicultural Polities.’ International Political Science Review 4, 3: 327–344.
Herskovitz, Jean (1979/1980). ‘Democracy in Nigeria.’ Foreign Affairs 58, 2: 314–335.
Hirschman, Albert O. (1970). Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations and States. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press.
Hirschman, Albert O. (1981). Essays in Trespassing: Economics to Politics and Beyond. London: Cambridge University Press.
Horowitz, Donald (1988). ‘Cause and Consequence in Public Policy Theory: The Malaysian System Transforming Itself.’ Duke University Program in International Political Economy, Working Paper No. 32, January.
Huntington, Samuel P. (1984). ‘Will More Countries Become Democratic?’ Political Science Quarterly 99, 2: 193–218.
Hyden, Goran (1983). No Shortcuts to Progress: African Development Management in Perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Hyden, Goran (1988). ‘Governance: A New Approach To Comparative Politics.’ Paper Presented at the Thirty-First Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Chicago, October.
Ibrahim, Jibrin (1986). ‘The Political Debate and the Struggle for Democracy in Nigeria.’ Review of African Political Economy 37: 38–48.
Jackson, Robert H. and Carl G. Rosberg (1984). ‘Popular Legitimacy in African Multi-Ethnic States.’ Journal of Modern African Studies 22, 2: 177–198.
Jackson, Robert H. and Carl G. Rosberg (1985). ‘Democracy in Tropical Africa: Democracy versus Autocracy in African Politics.’ Journal of International Affairs 38, 2:293–305.
Jeffries, Richard (1980). ‘The Ghanaian Elections of 1979.’ African Affairs 79, 316: 397–414.
Jeffries, Richard (1982). ‘Ghana: Jerry Rawlings ou un Populisme a Deux Coups.’ Politique Africaine 2, 8: 8–20.
Joseph, Richard A. (1981a). ‘Democratization under Military Tutelage: Crisis and Consensus in the Nigerian 1979 Elections.’ Comparative Politics 14, 1: 75–100.
Joseph, Richard A. (1981b). ‘The Ethnic Trap: Notes on the Nigerian Campaign and Election.’ Issue 11, 1–2:17–21.
Joseph, Richard A. (1983). ‘Class, State and Prebendal Politics in Nigera.’ Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 21, 3: 21–38.
Joseph, Richard A. (1987). Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria: The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic. London: Cambridge University Press.
Karl, Terry (1986). ‘Petroleum and Political Pacts: The Transition to Democracy in Venezuela,’ in Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe C. Schmitter and Laurence Whitehead, eds. Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 196–219.
Kirk-Greene, Anthony (1988). ‘A Sense of Belonging: The Nigerian Constitution of 1979 and the Promotion of National Loyalty.’ Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 26, 2: 158–172.
Kirk-Greene, Anthony and Douglas Rimmer (1981). Nigeria Since 1970: A Political and Economic Outline. New York: Holmes and Meier.
Konings, Piet (1986). The State and Rural Class Formation in Ghana. London: KPI.
Laitin, David (1982). ‘The Sharia Debate and the Origins of the Second Republic.’ Journal of Modern African Studies 20, 3: 411–430.
Limann, Hilla (1983). Democracy and Ghana: Select Speeches of President Hilla Limann. London: Rex Collings.
Linz, Juan (1978). The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Crisis, Breakdown and Reequilibration. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lonsdale, John (1986). ‘Public Accountability in African History,’ in Patrick Chabal, ed. Political Domination in Africa: Reflections on the Limits of Power. London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 126–157.
Luckham, Robin (1971). The Nigerian Military: A Sociological Analysis of Authority and Revolt. London: Cambridge University Press.
Mazrui, Ali A. (1983). ‘Political Engineering in Africa.’ International Social Science Journal 35, 2: 279–294.
Mensah, Kwaku (1989). ‘Equal Rights and Justice.’ West Africa 3725: 21–22.
Migdal, Joel (1987). ‘Strong States, Weak States: Power and Accommodation,’ in Myron Weiner and Samuel P. Huntington, eds., Understanding Political Development. Boston: Little, Brown, pp. 391–434.
National Defence Committee (n.d.). Guidelines for the Formation and Functions of the People's Defence Committees. Accra: Government Printer. Newswatch (1987–1989).
Nigeria, Federal Republic of (1987a). Government's Views and Comments on the Findings and Recommendations of the Political Bureau. Lagos: Federal Government Printer.
Nigeria, Federal Republic of (1987b). Report of the Political Bureau. Lagos: Federal Government Printer.
Ninsin, K. A. and F. K. Drah, eds. (1987). The Search for Democracy in Ghana. Accra: Assempa Publishers.
O'Donnell, Guillermo (1979). ‘Tensions in the Bureaucratic-Authoritarian State and the Question of Democracy,’ in David Collier, ed. The New Authoritarianism in Latin America. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 285–318.
O'Donnell, Guillermo (1986). ‘Introduction,’ in Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe C. Schmitter and Laurence Whitehead, eds. Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1–33.
Okeke, Barbara (1982). 4 June: A Revolution Betrayed. Enugu: Ikenga Publishers.
Oquaye, Mike. 1972–1979Politics in Ghana, 1972–1979. Accra: Tornado Publications.
Owusu, Maxwell (1986). ‘Customs and Coups: A Juridical Interpretation of Civil Order and Disorder in Ghana.’ Journal of Modern African Studies 24, 1: 69–99.
Oyediran, Oyeleye, ed. (1979). Nigerian Government and Politics under Military Rule. London: Macmillan.
Oyediran, Oyeleye, ed. (1981). The Nigerian 1979 Elections. London: Macmillan.
Panter-Brick, Keith, ed. (1978). Soldiers and Oil: The Political Transformation of Nigeria. London: Frank Cass.
Pellow, Deborah (1983). ‘Coping Responses to Revolution in Ghana.’ Cultures et Developpement 15, 1: 11–36.
Pellow, Deborah and Naomi Chazan (1986). Ghana: Coping with Uncertainty. Boulder: Westview Press.
People's Daily Graphic (1987–1989).
Post, Ken and Michael Vickers. Structure and Conflict in Nigeria. London: Heinemann.
Price, Robert (1971). ‘Military Officers and Political Leadership: The Ghanaian Case.’ Comparative Politics 3, 3: 361–381.
Price, Robert (1984). ‘Neo-Colonialism and Ghana's Economic Decline: A Critical Assessment.’ Canadian Journal of African Studies 18, 1:163–193.
Rado, Emil (1986). ‘Notes Towards a Political Economy of Ghana Today.’ African Affairs 85, 341: 563–572.
Rawlings, Jerry John (n.d.). A Revolutionary Journey: Selected Speeches of Flt-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, Chairman of the PNDC, Dec. 31, 1981–Dec. 31, 1982. Vol. I. Accra: Ghana Publishing Corporation.
Rawlings, Jerry John (1983). ‘Discipline and Productivity: Radio and Television Broadcast, Sunday 28 August 1983.’ Accra: Government Printer.
Ray, Donald I. (1986). Ghana: Politics, Economics and Society. London: Frances Pinter.
Ronen, Dov. ed. (1986). Democracy and Pluralism in Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Rothchild, Donald (1985). ‘The Rawlings Revolution in Ghana: Pragmatism with Populist Rhetoric.’ CSIS Africa Notes 42, May.
Rothchild, Donald and E. Gyimah-Boadi (1986). ‘Ghana's Economic Decline and Development Strategies,’ in John Ravenhill, ed. Africa in Economic Crisis. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 254–285.
Rothchild, Donald and E. Gyimah-Boadi (1988). ‘Populism and the “Thermidorian Revolution” in Ghana and Burkina Faso.’ Paper Presented at the Thirty-First Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Chicago, October.
Schwarz, Walter (1968). Nigeria. New York: Praeger.
Sklar, Richard L. (1963). Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Sklar, Richard L. (1966). ‘The Ordeal of Chief Awolowo,’ in Gwendolyn Carter, ed. Politics in Africa: Seven Cases. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, pp. 118–165.
Sklar, Richard L. (1979). ‘The Nature of Class Domination in Africa.’ Journal of Modern African Studies 17, 4: 531–552.
Sklar, Richard L. (1981). ‘Democracy for the Second Republic.’ Issue 11, 1–2: 14–16.
Sklar, Richard L. (1983). ‘Democracy in Africa.’ African Studies Review 26, 3–4: 11–24.
Sklar, Richard L. (1987). ‘Developmental Democracy.’ Comparative Studies in Society and History 19, 4: 686–714.
St. Jorre, John de (1972). The Brothers' War: Biafra and Nigeria. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
T-Vieta, Kojo (1989). ‘Ghana: Mixed Results.’ West Africa 3737: 510–511.
UNICEF (n.d.). Ghana: Adjustment Policies and Programmes to Protect Children and Other Vulnerable Groups. Accra.
West Africa (1987–1989).
Whitehead, Laurence (1986). ‘Bolivia's Failed Democratization, 1977–1980,’ in Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe C. Schmitter and Laurence Whitehead, eds. Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 49–71.
World Bank (1986). Ghana: Towards Structural Adjustment. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
Yeebo, Zaya (1985). ‘Ghana: Defence Committees and the Class Struggle.’ Review of African Political Economy 32: 64–72.
Young, Crawford (1988). ‘The African Colonial State and its Political Legacy,’ in Donald Rothchild and Naomi Chazan, eds. The Precarious Balance: State and Society in Africa. Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 25–66.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chazan, N. Planning democracy in Africa: A comparative perspective on Nigeria and Ghana . Policy Sci 22, 325–357 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00136323
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00136323