Foreign aid and democracy promotion: Lessons from Africa

Abstract

The disappointing results of international democratisation efforts are often attributed to domestic conditions that make it difficult for democracy to be established or survive. This paper recognises that the process is largely an endogenous one and that significant structural impediments exist. It argues that international actors, though for the most part absent from current theories of democratisation, can nonetheless play a very important role in promoting (or preventing) democratisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Paradoxically, the role of donors in promoting a rapid transition to a multiparty system actually can impede further democratisation. For better results, a better understanding of and commitment to the process are required. Competing economic, commercial and strategic interests, however, prevent donors from making a more positive contribution. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd.