Joel D. Barkan

‘Hometown’ Voluntary Associations, Local Development, and the Emergence of Civil Society in Western Nigeria

At a time when most African countries are characterised as ‘strong societies and weak states’, the tendency to afford the state ‘ontological primacy’ in explaining the nature of African political economy is being challenged. One manifestation of this has been a shift in scholarly attention to those intermediary and autonomous organisations which function and sometimes flourish in the space that exists between the state and the household – namely, the various groups which comprise ‘civil society’.

Protracted transitions among Africa's new democracies

Discussions of democratic transition and consolidation fail to devote much consideration to transitions in neo‐patrimonial regimes, such as those found in many African countries. This article argues that in such cases, the conceptual distinction between transition and consolidation may break down because the transition does not end until the polity, still in the midst of democratization, takes on some attributes of a consolidated democracy. Hence, protracted transition and consolidation may be one and the same, or processes that substantially, if not entirely, overlap each other. After briefly contrasting neo‐patrimonial regimes with the protracted transition ideal type, the essay adapts that ideal type to fit Africas neo‐patrimonial regimes, drawing on evidence from contemporary politics in six African countries: South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Peasant-State Relations and the Social Base of Self Help in Kenya

Peasant-state relations in developing countries are often a function of the nature and extent of stratification in peasant populations. Where there is a rigid class structure, the prospects for cooperation by members of the peasantry are low, and large landowners tend to ally themselves with the state to exploit the rural poor. Where, on the other hand, the nature of rural stratification is ambiguous, “small” and “middle” peasants are able to organize themselves for collective action and to bargain effectively for state aid to their communities. The hypothesis is confirmed using survey data about the nature of peasant participation in the Harambee selfhelp development movement in rural Kenya. Effective peasant-state bargaining in Kenya has in turn contributed to the legitimacy of the Kenyan political system.

Age and Turnout in New Electorates and Peasant Societies

In established electorates in developed countries, voting turnout has a familiar curvilinear relationship with age. In new electorates, however, lack of experience and supposed resistance to new behavior among middle-aged voters suggest that turnout might be greater among the young. In peasant societies, the start-up costs that reduce turnout among young adults might not apply because of immobility of the population and resulting familiarity with local politics. Data from an early election in rural Kenya and from rural Turkey show that the familiar relationship holds even in these circumstances. The results suggest that increased electoral experience and resistance to newly available behavior do little to shape turnout. Mobility of the young, even in peasant populations, and psychological factors associated with aging are more powerful elements.