Ossification And Erosion of Sovereignty In Africa


Westphalian system in Africa promised power, order, unity, hegemony and organization through the following pillars: upholding geographic boundaries, liberty, life, pursuance of happiness by the people in those borders, freedom of speech, religion, mobility, countries trade with each other without fear of belligerence or internal strife, holding regular elections and changing governments. The countries do not interfere in affairs of other countries unless given permission to. 

In this system, states were the legitimately recognized actors and could negotiate as sovereigns. 

 A study into how state sovereignty translated in Africa finds that:

 1) few countries in Africa have not had coups after independence. The causes of coups included: unequal consolidation of power, secessionist goals, dissatisfaction of people, mutiny, bitterness over how cake is shared, and other reasons.
  2) most governments change after civil unrest.
 3) in only a few cases governments hold regular elections where power is transferred peacefully to an incoming government.
 4) in some cases governments hold regular elections but power remains in the same hands.
  5) some countries in Africa are semi-autonomous states.
 6) some countries have since assumed new names and boundaries.
 7) self determination issues and cohesion into one nation of people of same ethnicities living across borderlines have arisen. This means that new country boundaries are likely to be formed.
 8) there have been cases of incursions and interferences between countries. 

Two factors are significant in upholding the principle of sovereignty: 
 1) significantly powerful institutions such as the executive, military, intelligence, foreign services, judiciary, legislature, civil service, social services and civil society organization
 2) well mobilized, resourced and politically conscious population believing in collective sovereign aspirations. Support by population is indicated by majority participation in  activities such as party politics and voting. The strength of institutions is measured by: power sharing, non interference, logistical support for smooth operation, recruiting, retaining and motivating qualified personnel, participation by the people in use of services and enjoyment of freedoms.

 The notion of sovereignty is expansive and touches on agency, autonomy, and flexibility at individual and institutional levels. One can talk of state, religious, human, parliamentary, community, private property or tribal sovereignty. Because, states have so much power they act as reference points for delivery or negotiation when needs arise. 

 How well states are organized using the local characteristics and patterns(e.g.,ethnicities/tribes, faiths, traditions, gender, demography, natural resources, infrastructure and many other dimensions that can be turned into opportunities) and how well they are consolidated to be beneficial to the people will feature highly on performance indicators. When states support growth and development they are strengthening all the particular entities necessary for ossification, building and entrenching sovereignty. But, when they subvert growth and development sovereignty erodes. This is what economist Raghuram terms "responsible sovereignty."














Source: Google

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