Constitutional engineering and the transition to democracy in post-Cold War Africa.

Summary

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The successful development of a common democratic society in African nations depends on successful creation of self-enforcing constitutions. The lack of strong governing regulations has enabled incumbent officials to survive reforms and retain their oppressive power. By using the public-choice method to construct efficient constitutions, African citizens can ensure that political reforms are maintained.

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Constitutional engineering and the transition to democracy in post-Cold War Africa.

In the early 1990s, many of Africa's dictatorships (both military and civilian) collapsed, giving Africans the opportunity to establish more transparent, participatory, and accountable political and economic systems. In addition, the demise of apartheid in South Africa has given a significant boost to the continent's efforts to establish more participatory governance structures. Although the transition appears to be progressing well in a few countries (Mbaku and Kimenyi 1995), little progress has been made in most of the continent

In fact, in some countries (e.g., Nigeria, Algeria, and Cameroon), the transition has been hijacked by incumbents determined to continue monopolizing power. In addition, in countries where the transition seems to be progressing without major obstacles, policy reform has not progressed past the election stage. The elections were supposed to choose transitional governments that would engage the people in constitution making and provide a framework for the reconstruction of the neocolonial state. But many of these new governments have not taken the job of designing new rules seriously; they have become repressive and in many instances have continued to suffocate civil society while making it very difficult for opposition parties to function. In some countries, elections simply legitimized incumbents and allowed them to continue their brutal and exclusionary policies.

Cameroon is a good example. According to two of the nation's most respected independent newspapers, the incumbent president, Paul Biya, has manipulated elections to make certain that his party, the CPDM, continues to control the country's political system. Opposition groups claim that the electoral code for the 1992 legislative elections was written by the CPDM specifically to ensure its victory The code contained clauses ensuring that the election would not be free or fair but skewed in favor of CPDM candidates. (See, for example, the Cameroonian periodicals Cameroon Life, March 1992, 15-17; Le Messager, 28 October 1992; and The Herald, 26 October 1992. For a summary of transition events in Cameroon, see Finn 1994.)

At independence in the 1960s, the African people had an opportunity to choose new laws and institutions that would provide the enabling environment for national integration, peaceful coexistence, and development in the post-independence society Unfortunately, this opportunity was usurped ...

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