The Liberal Model and Africa: Elites Against Democracy

by K. Good

Overview

This book critically examines the realities of liberal democracy; its elitism and non-accountability; and its inequalities and injustices. Participatory systems and movements, whether in Athens, seventeenth and nineteenth century England, or South Africa 1970-1990, are more effective in satisfying the democratic aspirations of the people and in curtailing ambitious elites, than what is passed off now as 'democracy'. By interrogating contemporary democratic regimes, in the United States, and in Botswana and South Africa, the severe limitations and constraints inherent in liberal democracy are highlighted. The need for a clear evaluation of what constituted democracy emerges as a powerful message of Kenneth Good's argument.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780333790427
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	03/01/2002
Series:	International Political Economy Series
Edition description:	2002
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

Kenneth Good is Professor of Political Studies at the University of Botswana, Gaborone. His works include Development and Dependence: The Political Economy of Papua New Guinea and Realizing Democracy in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

Table of Contents

Preface PART I: BOTSWANA Autocratic Elites and Enfeebled Masses: Africa, Botswana and South Africa Routinized Injustice: The Situation of the San in Botswana PART II: UNITED STATES The Liberal Capitalist Paradigm: Elitism and Injustice in the United States PART III: SOUTH AFRICA Elitism's Place in the ANC Universalizing an Incomplete Predominance Predominance and the Empowerment Goose PART IV: FROM ANCIENT TO FUTURE WORLDS Participatory Democracy: The Reality and the Continuing Aspiration: Athens, Britain and South Africa The Unending Struggle Index

Editorial Reviews

'The Liberal Model and Africa: Elites Against Democracy delivers a searching, powerful and innovative critique of liberal democracy, notably as it has arrived in Southern Africa.' - Professor Roger Southall, Department of Politics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

'This is indeed a useful and timely contribution to the democracy debate in Africa.' - Dr Francis B. Nyamnjoh, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Botswana

'[Kenneth Good] illustrates in this important book, no country (with the exception of Madagascar) has embraced participatory democracy with its egalitarian face, preferring instead the elitism of the liberal model.' - The Sunday Independent

From the Publisher

This is indeed a useful and timely contribution to the democracy debate in Africa.

Francis B. Nyamnjoh

This analysis of the liberal democratic model as it is practiced in the US and Africa offers a detailed critique of the model's weakness in the area of accountability. Good (political science, U. of Botswana, Gaborone) describes the recent political history in South Africa and Botswana, comparing the extreme division of wealth and endemic social injustice to the capitalist elite system of the US. Subsequent sections provide a detailed history of the ANC in South Africa and accounts of two earlier democracies, that of Classical Athens and the Levellers in revolutionary Britain. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews