Professor Chirot observed that donors and development agencies usually operate under the premise that economic growth and democratization go hand in hand; to get one, you need the other. However, this view is at odds with the comparative and historical record of economic growth. There are powerful economies governed by non-democratic regimes, and there are many underdeveloped and impoverished democracies.

Moreover, the accepted wisdom has it that democracy and a robust civil society emerge together. Again, this does not square well with history. For instance, the development of civil society in England took nearly seven centuries, and can be attributed to power struggles between local elites and the central monarchy, not the activity of the masses. Democracy came later. Most importantly, civil society was achieved in a way that did not destroy a sense of national unity. This, Chirot suggested, is what must occur in Africa if it is to escape some of the devastating conflicts of the past decades. What we hope, however, is that the development of civil society in Africa will not take as long as it did in England.

In many places in Africa, the power of local elites was seriously undermined during the colonial era, and it has remained so. This means that local elites, including those within larger cities, are not strong enough to fight against the power of the central government, which is often rife with corruption. He noted that it is possible to use international aid to involve and empower local elites in the distribution of resources, and thus begin to balance the power of the central government and create what he calls a “parallel society.” As an example, Professor Chirot described a program in Bouaké, the rebel capital of northern Côte d’Ivoire, run by the anti-poverty group CARE and funded by the World Bank. In this project, local elites from the various ethnic, religious, and geographical groups in the area were asked to form a steering committee to approve grant proposals for development projects to be created and carried out by the local community. These local elites, who had known each other in the past but who had lost trust in other groups during the civil war, were to function on a consensual basis in approving small-scale, relatively low-cost projects to help the entire community. The community itself would learn not just how to construct a project proposal, but how to create projects for the “greater good” rather than for sectarian benefit.

A voter casts her ballot in a polling station in Edendale Township in Pietermaritz. (UN Photo Archive)

The major benefit of this project was that economic incentives were tied to the development of a cooperative relationship among fractured groups, and that the community itself was involved in planning its redevelopment. Since the project cost about $3 per capita, such programs could be easily replicated elsewhere on the continent, and sustained for a relatively long amount of time (5 to 10 years). One of the most significant obstacles to such a program arises from the necessity of assembling very detailed local knowledge in order to find well-meaning local elites rather than spoilers and warlords. In at least a few of the “hopeless” places in Africa, even such a modest investment could reap enormous benefits. The other impediment to such projects is that too many major international donors have short term horizons and do not have the patience to gather the kind of knowledge necessary to make them work. But there are examples that have worked, and it is within our power to initiate many more.

There are many explanations for the prevalence of conflict in Africa: the legacies of imperialism, global inequities in access to resources, a complex ethnic geography. Chirot focused, however, on the political nature of Africa’s problems and on the institutions that might change these circumstances. In particular, he assessed the prospects for the development of popular and stable democracies in Africa, as well as the emergence of authentic civil society.

Daniel Chirot is professor of international studies and sociology at the University of Washington in Seattle. Chirot has authored several influential books on Eastern Europe, social change in the modern era, and the nature of tyranny. He also consults with the international humanitarian and anti-poverty organization CARE about their projects in Niger and Cote d'Ivoire to build civil society institutions and to mitigate ethnic and religious conflict.