African Governments AC- Do you know government? Describe and explain the governments of Kenya, South Africa and Sudan
How do citizens participate in the government? Autocratic/Autocracy Oligarchic/Oligarchy Democratic/Democracy
Autocratic/Autocracy Rule of ONE Long definition: government in which one person possesses unlimited power and the citizen has little if any role in government. Examples of autocratic governments Dictatorship Absolute Monarchy Theocracy
Oligarchic/Oligarchy Rule of a FEW Long definition: government by the few, sometimes a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes. The citizen has a very limited role. Examples of oligarchic governments Theocracy
Democratic/Democracy Rule of ALL Long definition: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. Examples of democratic governments Parliamentary democracy Presidential democracy Republic
How do governments distribute power? Unitary Confederation Federal
Unitary Central government has all the power Long definition: characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is held by one central authority (dictatorship or absolute monarchy).
Unitary Examples of unitary governments China United Kingdom
Confederation States control a weak central government Long definition: voluntary associations of independent states that, to secure some common purpose, agree to certain limitations on their freedom of action and establish some joint machinery of consultation or deliberation
Confederation Examples of confederation OPEC United Arab Emirates
Federal Power is SHARED between central government and states Long definition: characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is divided between one central and several regional authorities.
Federal Examples of federal governments United States Australia Germany
KENYA Republic Democratic Federal
KENYA-Form of Leadership Chief of state: President Head of state: Prime Minister
KENYA-Type of Legislature Unicameral national assembly called the Bunge. Members elected to five year terms
KENYA-Role of Citizen – Voting Rights Universal suffrage at 18 years of age Citizens vote for president and other representatives
KENYA-Personal Freedoms of the citizen Citizens can criticize the government or its leaders in limited amounts
SOUTH AFRICA Republic Democratic Federal
SOUTH AFRICA-Form of Leadership Chief of state & head of state is the President President is elected by the national assembly
SOUTH AFRICA-Type of Legislature Bicameral Parliament: National Assembly & National Council of Provinces Members elected to five year terms
SOUTH AFRICA-Role of Citizen – Voting Rights Universal suffrage at 18 years of age Citizens vote for representatives in parliament
SOUTH AFRICA-Personal Freedoms of the citizen Freedom of speech and the media – citizens are allowed to criticize the govt.
SUDAN Dictatorship Autocratic Unitary
SUDAN-Form of Leadership Chief of state & head of state is the President
SUDAN-Type of Legislature Power-sharing government between NCP and SPLM
SUDAN-Role of Citizen – Voting Rights Under the 2005 peace agreement, elections are to be held in 2009 Universal suffrage at 17 years of age Last vote was believed to be rigged.
SUDAN-Personal Freedoms of the citizen Citizens cannot criticize the government or its leaders No freedom of speech or press Limited personal freedoms
Legacy of colonialism Colonial states lacked capacity to meet the social and economic needs of its citizens No political foundation for democracy Ethnic conflict made unity of nation difficult
Political problems faced by new independent African countries Sovereignty(right to rule self) and security-after colonial rule ended countries faced probability they would fall apart National unity-citizens needed to develop a stronger loyalty and identity as a nation, rather than loyal to ethnic group Basic human services-Legitimacy of the government depended on their ability to provide infrastructure, hospital, and schools.
Types of African governments Most had a constitution Modeled government on their colonial power Governments did not resemble colonial power government 20 years later
Why? Government lacked capacity to provide needed social services Tension between old colonial system and new constitutional system Economic difficulties Ethnic tensions
What happened ? Most governments started out with multi-party systems By 1970 half had military governments Numerous coup d’etats Some violent Some peaceful
Why Military government? Military leaders felt they could do a better job Citizens thought, and military leaders promised they would provide basic social and economic needs Military claimed right to intervene in ethnic conflicts Government leaders had become corrupt and military felt justified in taking power
Still problems persist Military regimes not democratic Military governments no more successful than previous governments Between 1960 and attempted coups, 60 were successful Only 6 of 54 countries have not had an attempted or successful coup
One party countries More than half countries had military rule Botswana had multi-party system Others were one party systems
Why one party system? Tradition-traditional African kingdoms were not multi- party Direct democracy-one party was better to listen to will of people National Unity-single party could heal divisions between ethnic groups Development orientation-energies spent on countries needs rather than elections
Why democracy now? In 1980’s-5 African countries had competitive elections 1990’s-40 African countries had free and fair multiparty elections
Why democracy now? Demand for human rights and participation Civil society –public organizations pressured government to be more responsive to citizens International factors-democracy in Eastern Europe End of the cold war