NGOs, Civil Society and Democracy

Abstract

The African continent, like the rest of the developing world, has been enveloped by the ‘third wave’ of democratization (Huntington, 1991). Within the space of a decade, scores of countries throughout the African continent have made an unsteady transition to some form of multiparty democracy. In 1989, 39 of the 45 Sub-Saharan countries had authoritarian forms of rule, but by early 1995, 31 of the 45 had democratic presidential or parliamentary elections (UN, 1996, p. 24). Whether these changes are classified as part of Huntington’s ‘Third Wave of Democratization’ or reflective of Fukayama’s ‘End of History’, or Africa’s ‘Second’ independence there is a process of profound change occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. Donors no longer driven by polarized ideological considerations are unwilling to buttress authoritarian and illegitimate regimes. Aid is increasingly being funnelled through NGOs and other non-state actors rather than through the decrepit and often corrupt state.