3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/45
Browse
Search Results
Item European Union and democratization of Africa: the case of Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Morocco (1990-2010)(2015-08-27) Chirisa, NeverIn the early 1990s, issues of democracy, good governance, security and human rights became more prominent in the international system and attained space in various policy documents. The period has been characterized by massive waves of transitions from one-party to multi-party political systems, which can be described as global democratic revolutions. Such democratic revolutions or movement towards democracy was not confined to one territory; rather it was a worldwide phenomenon that reached many parts of the world such as Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. It involved radical political transitions due to pressure to promote political liberalization and foster democratic reforms in most of these countries. The push for democratization was led by various democratic actors such as the European Union, United States of America, Britain, Norway, Canada and institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank among others. The waves and calls for democratization by these actors have resulted in various democratic transition outcomes in which some of the recipient countries of external democratic support are left stuck in the process while some of them have completely failed and reverted back to authoritarian or oppressive regimes. Countries that have failed in the democratization process experience various consequences such as limited access to the media, fragmented opposition political parties, fraudulent electoral activities, violence and poor citizen participation. These shortfalls reflect gaps or inconsistencies in the outcomes of the democratization process that needs to be investigated. This study looks at the factors causing inconsistencies in the outcomes of the process.