Political Clientelism, Political Culture and Development in Africa

Authors

  • Kehinde Jonathan Oyedeji University of Ibadan
  • Oluwaseun Ige Alhassan Ekiti State University
  • Austin Ayodele University of Ibadan
  • Olutade Akinniyi Ogunrinde University of Ibadan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/3610

Keywords:

Political Clientelism, Liberal Democracy, Neo-Colonialism, Development

Abstract

Culture, society and development are the three most pertinent factors associated with every human civilization; however, they are distinctive and relative. Thus, development exists distinctively in every society. Today, globalization has promoted and consolidated democracy – ‘liberal democracy’ – almost across the globe as the single ideology and the best form of government that must be practised for the protection of individuals’ fundamental human rights. However, the adoption of liberal democracy varies and continues to create a dichotomous marginality between the ‘capitalist West’ and the so-called developing nations with respect to its results. The pertinent questions are: what is the relevance of liberal democracy to Third World development? How important are the desirability, feasibility, conditions and possibilities of liberal democracy for a country where democracy is alien to its political culture? And how is the cultural and historical backdrop of the developing world different from that of the West? We will explore the importance of political clientelism in African political development and look beyond liberal democracy for an African-like democracy. This essay aims to contribute to our collaborative intellectual efforts by looking at the existence of development in human cultural patterns, the historical perspective of liberal democracy, its meaning, its validity, its relationship to African development, neo-colonialism and the global clientelistic structure for continuous dependency, as well as political clientelism importance to African development; by reconstructing the ontological notion of development to the Third World nations as envelopment- overt control of the progress of Third World nations by Global West and by suggesting a possible alternative for a sustainable development.

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Author Biographies

Kehinde Jonathan Oyedeji, University of Ibadan

Kehinde Jonathan Oyedeji is a Doctoral student at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. He is presently into research activities in Informal Sector, Employment and Development. He has conducted studies on outsourced employment, informal organising in workplace, domestic migrant workers in the informal sector and ethnic/national identity issues in Nigeria. His field of interests include-Sociology of Work, Development Studies, Informal Labour and Migration, Sociology of Waste and Political Sociology. He can be reached at: jothkin@gmail.com.

Oluwaseun Ige Alhassan, Ekiti State University

Oluwaseun Ige Alhassan is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He has conducted studies on Women Health-Seeking and Utilization of Indigenous Medicine in Urban Ekiti State, Nigeria, Cohabitation and Fertility Behaviour in Nigeria. Gender-Roles and Household Health Production in Prevention of Ebola Virus Infection in Selected Communities in Ghana and Nigeria. His field of interests include: Health Sociology, Population Health, Sociology of Development, and Criminology. He can be reached at: hassandele@yahoo.com.

Austin Ayodele, University of Ibadan

Austin Ayodele is a Doctoral student at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. He’s presently into research activities in criminality and health. He has conducted studies on organised crime, gang crime and threat to national security in Nigeria. His main academic focus include Criminology, Policing and Victim Studies, other areas include Health and Demography. He can be reached at: ayodele.austin@gmail.com.

Olutade Akinniyi Ogunrinde, University of Ibadan

Olutade Akinniyi Ogunrinde is a Doctoral student at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. He is presently conducting a study on Prison System, Vocational Training and Rehabilitation in Nigeria. His previous researches include- Small scale enterprises and unemployment, festivities and child beggars, informal organising, conflict of interests in workplace setting. His main academic focus Include Industrial Sociology, Labour and Migration Studies, Criminiology and Development Studies. He can be reached at: ananse4excel@yahoo.com.

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Published

2019-12-27

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