Jean-François BAYART - Democracy to the Test of Tradition in Sub-Saharan Africa

Pouvoirs n°129 - avril 2009 - La démocratie en Afrique - p.27-44

In Africa as elsewhere the relationship of democracy and tradition is historical, even more so since the former has been “invented” and bureaucratized in the colonial context. Both the holders of authoritarian power and democratic entrepreneurs have been able to resort to democracy because it is politically polysemic. But it is above all at the local level that the elections, the process of decentralization, the organizations of civil society and the chiefdoms created by the indirect colonial administration have established a critical relationship with tradition through the social conflicts they trigger, in particular those launched by women and the young. Résumé

Référence électonique : Jean-François BAYART, "Democracy to the Test of Tradition in Sub-Saharan Africa", Pouvoirs, revue française d’études constitutionnelles et politiques, n°129, 2009, p.27-44. Consulté le 01-06-2012. URL : http://www.revue-pouvoirs.fr/Democracy-to-the-Test-of-Tradition.html