It's Our Time to 'Chop': Do Elections in Africa Feed Neopatrimonialism Rather than Counter-Act it?

Democratization, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 121-140, Summer 2003

10 Pages Posted: 18 Sep 2007 Last revised: 16 Dec 2014

See all articles by Staffan I. Lindberg

Staffan I. Lindberg

University of Gothenburg - Varieties of Democracy Institute; University of Gothenburg - Department of Political Science

Date Written: Jan 01, 2002

Abstract

This article addresses the concern that democratisation may contribute to the reproduction of neopatrimonialism, rather than to counter-act it. The article reports the result of a survey among MPs in Ghana regarding their election campaigns. Total spending, sources of funds, and their usage are analysed in the context of democratic consolidation of liberal democracy. The survey results are supplemented with data collected in 34 interviews with MPs. The data shows that a MPs are involved in patron-client relationships to a significant degree to reproduce their political power. Furthermore, the prevalence of patronage politics among MPs in Ghana has increased throughout the period of democratic rule. The prospects for a consolidation of liberal democracy are gloomy. The result of the analysis shows that a persistent pattern of patronage politics threatens the very heart of democratic consolidation. Vertical accountability and legitimacy is threatened by alternative pacts of loyalty, expectations of corruption, and tendencies to delegative mandates. Horizontal accountability risks pervasion by "big man" interventions, and by insufficient allocation of time to monitoring-, policy-, and legislative activities of the MPs. While Ghana's transition-process it an example many other countries may learn from, observers should also be aware of the hurdles of consolidation.

Keywords: democratization, elections, Africa, neopatrimonialism, corruption, clientelism

Suggested Citation

Lindberg, Staffan I., It's Our Time to 'Chop': Do Elections in Africa Feed Neopatrimonialism Rather than Counter-Act it? (Jan 01, 2002). Democratization, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 121-140, Summer 2003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1013648

Staffan I. Lindberg (Contact Author)

University of Gothenburg - Varieties of Democracy Institute ( email )

Sprängkullsgatan 19
Gothenburg, Gothenburg 405 30
Sweden

HOME PAGE: http://v-dem.net

University of Gothenburg - Department of Political Science ( email )

Box 711
Gothenburg, S-405 30
Sweden

HOME PAGE: http://www.pol.gu.se

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