Asandak Paul Tangu

Role of External Actors in the Democratization of Sub-saharan Africa: a Critical Appraisal Asandak Paul Tangu

By the late 1980s, dictatorship had triumphed over democracy in Sub-Saharan (SS) Africa, thereby bringing to a halt the democratization process that had been introduced by the colonial powers before independence in the mid 20th century. As a consequence, it triggered a chain of widespread street protests, violence and strikes,led by the civil society. Coupled with a devastating economic crisis, it drew the attention of several external bodies who began a series of activities to normalize the societies. But their actions sparked up a conspiracy theory from African scholars, politicians and media,accusing the mostly Western-based actors of double standards and neo-colonialism in Africa. This theory therefore put to question an important issue; whether the activities have been meant for the promotion of democracy or for some other purposes. So in this 89 page book, the author, after identifying these actors, and critically probing into their policies, came up with some very interesting revelations about the motives behind it all. Its a must-read book especially for students and lovers of democracy and rights activists.