Democratic Trajectories in Africa: Unravelling the Impact of Foreign Aid

327 Pages·2013·1.52 MB·English

by  Danielle Resnick

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Democratic Trajectories in Africa
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,7/10/2013,SPi
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OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,7/10/2013,SPi
Democratic Trajectories
in Africa
Unravelling the Impact of Foreign Aid
Edited by
Danielle Resnick and Nicolas van de Walle
A study prepared by the United Nations University World Institute for
DevelopmentEconomicsResearch(UNU-WIDER)
1
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,7/10/2013,SPi
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Foreword
Sub-Saharan Africa is an increasingly dynamic region of the world, experi-
encingimpressivegrowthratesoverthelastdecade.Yet,despitevastnatural
resource discoveries and the emergence of a small but growing middle class,
foreign aid continues to represent a vital source of finance for a number of
African governments. As a consequence, foreign aid still plays a role in
shaping not only economic development outcomes but also certain govern-
ancetrajectories.
This edited volume provides a fresh perspective on a critical aspect of
governance in Africa: democratization. Although a rich literature exists on
therelationshipbetweenaidanddemocracy,thisvolumeofferstwoimport-
ant innovations. First, the authors acknowledge that foreign aid is a multi-
facetedresourcewithdisparateobjectives.Accordingly,theydifferentiatethe
influenceofeconomicdevelopmentaidanddemocracyassistanceondemoc-
racy.Second,theauthorsviewdemocracyasaprocessconsistingnotonlyof
transitionsawayfromauthoritarianism,butalsoofconsolidatingdemocratic
gains.Thesetwoanalyticalinnovationsarebolsteredbychaptersthatcollect-
ivelyusequantitativeandqualitativemethods,includingrecentfieldworkin
seven African countries. The nuanced findings offer an important contribu-
tiontothescholarshiponaideffectivenessanddemocracypromotion.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the editors, Danielle Resnick
andNicolasvandeWalle,fortheirprofessionalskillsinbringingthistopical
researchworktofruitionforourfurtherreflectionontheimpactanddesignof
foreignaid.
Incompletingtheresearchthatcomprisesthisvolume,UNU-WIDERgrate-
fullyacknowledgesspecificprogrammecontributionsfromthegovernments
ofDenmark(MinistryofForeignAffairs,Danida)andSweden(SwedishInter-
nationalDevelopmentCooperationAgency—Sida)fortheResearchandCom-
munication(ReCom)programme.
FinnTarp
Director,UNU-WIDER
Helsinki,January2013
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Acknowledgements
Writingandcompilingthiseditedvolumeonaidanddemocracyhasentailed
substantial effort by a dedicated group of political scientists who remained
committed to this project despite other pressing obligations. The authors of
each chapter initially presented their research to each other during a small
workshop held in Helsinki in August 2011, which is when many common
threadsthroughoutouranalysesgraduallybecameapparent.Throughsubse-
quent interactions, each author refined his/her analysis to help the book’s
mainfindingsbecomefurthercrystallized.Weareextremelygratefulforallof
theauthors’dedication,insights,andenthusiasmtocontinuerevisitingtheir
chaptersbasedonourfeedbackandthoseofothers.
Much of the content of the seven African case studies would have proved
impossible without the co-operation of various donor agencies, diplomats,
civil society organizations, African civil servants, and African parliamentar-
ians. In some cases, these individuals are cited by name in the subsequent
chapters while in others, they chose to remain anonymous. In all cases, the
authors are highly appreciative that such individuals took time out of their
busyschedulestosharetheirinsightsabouttheimpactsofaidondemocracy
inthosecountriesinwhichtheyworkandlive.Insomeinstances,conducting
suchprimaryresearchwasfacilitatedbyindustriousresearchassistants,whose
effortsareacknowledgedaccordinglyintherelevantchapters.
We also thank the feedback received by participants at a variety of fora,
includingataResearchandCommunicationonForeignAid(ReCom)meeting
at the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) in Stockholm, a
seminar with members of the governance group at Denmark’s International
DevelopmentAgency(Danida)inCopenhagen,aroundtablediscussionwith
researchers at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London, and a
workshopwithdonorsandcivilsocietymembersinAccra,Ghana.Alongwith
the thoughtful comments from three anonymous reviewers, this feedback
undoubtedly strengthened the volume and forced us to revisit certain
assumptions.
This volume would not have come to fruition without the incredible sup-
port of certain key individuals at Oxford University Press (OUP) and the
United Nations University-World Institute for Development Economics
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,7/10/2013,SPi
Acknowledgements
Research(UNU-WIDER).Inparticular,AdamSwallowatOUPprovidedinitial
enthusiasm for the topic and helped guide the book through the review
process. Finn Tarp and Tony Addison, director and deputy director at UNU-
WIDER, respectively, provided much-needed encouragement throughout all
stagesofthisproject.WealsoappreciatetheeffortsofLiisaRoponenandRos
McDonnell,whohelpededitsomeofthebook’schapters.Finally,alargedebt
of gratitude goes to Janis Vehmaan-Kreula, whose patience and keen eye for
detail helped ensure consistency across all the chapters, and Lorraine Telfer-
Taivainen,whokeptusonscheduletoensurethatthevolumewasontrackfor
publication.
Due to both our own efforts and those acknowledged here, we hope that
thisvolumeaccuratelycapturessomeofthekeyacademicandpolicydebates
surroundingforeignaidanddemocracyandthatitoffersthefoundationsfor
furtherdebateandreflectiononthishighlyimportanttopic.
DanielleResnickandNicolasvandeWalle
Helsinki,January2013
vii
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Contents
ListofFigures xi
ListofTables xii
NotesonContributors xiv
MapofAfrica xvi
1. Introduction:WhyAidandDemocracy?WhyAfrica? 1
DanielleResnickandNicolasvandeWalle
2. DemocratizationinAfrica:WhatRoleforExternalActors? 28
DanielleResnickandNicolasvandeWalle
3. ForeignAidandDemocraticDevelopmentinAfrica 56
SimoneDietrichandJosephWright
4. ForeignAidinDangerousPlaces:TheDonorsandMali’s
Democracy 87
NicolasvandeWalle
5. TwoStepsForward,OneStepBack:TheLimitsofForeign
AidonMalawi’sDemocraticConsolidation 110
DanielleResnick
6. TheChangingDynamicsofForeignAidandDemocracyin
Mozambique 139
CarrieManningandMonicaMalbrough
7. DonorAssistanceandPoliticalReforminTanzania 170
AiliMariTripp
8. ForeignAidandDemocraticConsolidationinZambia 200
LiseRakner
9. BeyondElectoralDemocracy:ForeignAidandtheChallenge
ofDeepeningDemocracyinBenin 228
MamoudouGazibo