The Politics of Neoliberal Democracy in Africa
Subtitle: State and Civil Society in Nigeria
Publisher: I. B. Tauris
Published: June 10, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9781845116569
Subjects: Liberalism & centre democratic ideologies; Political structures: democracy; History; Politics / Current Events; History: World; Nigeria; Economic Conditions; International Relations - General; Political Science / Economic Conditions; Africa - General
Description: "Since the late 1980s the changing dynamic of global development has driven the tide of democratic expansion in the developing world. In Africa, western donors have sought to impose 'neo-liberal' visions of socio-economic and political institution-building, spreading political reforms and economic liberalisation with far-reaching consequences. Associated with external interventions, but also sometimes conflicting with them, are internal protests against authoritarianism, which have problematically reinforced and/or undermined the donor agenda for democratic reform.Here, Usman Tar questions the assumption that Africa was lacking the essential components for a spontaneous transition to democracy. He explores the dynamic, but contradictory, links between external and internal dimensions of neo-liberal democratic expansion in Africa, focusing on Nigeria. Tar dissects the struggles for democracy, and for democratic policy and practice in a country with rich economic potential but a troubled political dispensation."--Bloomsbury Publishing.