No African country has tried so hard or for so long to create a lasting democratic system as has Nigeria, but success has been elusive. Political transition to democracy, under the auspices of a series of authoritarian military governments, has been prolonged and lacking in outcome; vast sums of money, and an increasing number of Nigerian lives, have been sacrificed, and the more intangible costs -to the relations among and between the country's complex mosaic of ethnicities, religions andregions, and to Nigeria's international relations - have been incalculable. Increasingly, the dilemma of democracy has become the axis around which all of Nigeria's public questions revolve.
This book offers an innovative, multidisciplinary study of the historical, social and economic roots of both the effort and the failure to create democracy in Nigeria; it includes contributions by 13 of Nigeria's best politicalanalysts. Major episodes of transition to democracy (both ultimately unsuccessful) are studied in detail; new interpretations of the patterns of regional and ethnic interaction and conflict are developed; and the outlooks for democracy, internal peace and continued national existence are assessed.
Professor PAUL A. BECKETT is Assistant Dean of International Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; CRAWFORD YOUNG is H. Edwin Young and Rupert Emerson Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisonsin-Madison.
Contributors: FUNSO AFOLAYAN, ADIGUN AGBAJE, SABO BAKO, PAUL BECKETT, PETER EKEH, DAVID EMELIFEONWU, TOYIN FALOLA, ALEX GBOYEGA, JIBRIN IBRAHIM, RICHARD JOSEPH, PETER LEWIS, OYELEYE OYEDIRAN, JOHN PADEN, RICHARD SKLAR, ROTIMI SUBERU, CHUDI UWASURIKE, OLUFEMI VAUGHN, PAT AMA TOKUNBO WILLIAMS, CRAWFORD YOUNG
Rezensionen / Stimmen
Excellent collection of essays...Dilemmas of Democracy is a major contribution to the literature on Nigerian politics. It is essential reading not only for any scholar interested in Nigeria but also for those with wider interests in questions of democratisation and military rule. AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE One of the volume's strengths is its contribution to discussions of democratic transitions...Essential for gaining a general understanding of the current Nigerian political climate...Contributors have thoroughly probed the current barriers to democratic consolidation in Nigeria. AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW Ap. 1998 It is a 'must read' for all Nigerian specialists and Africanists interested in democratization...an excellent overview of the major obstacles to democratization in Nigeria. INT'L J OF AF. HIST. STUDS #30 A highly recommended port of call for anyone interested in the contemporary policial history of Nigeria. * HISTORY *
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978-1-878822-98-7 (9781878822987)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Part 1 History and society: crises and transitions in the political history of independent Nigeria, Richard L. Sklar; Nigeria - a political entity and a society, Funso Afolayan. Part 2 Theoretical perspectives: permanent transition and changing conjunction - dilemmas of democracy in Africa - a Nigerian context, Crawford Young; the concept of second liberation and the prospects of democracy in Africa - a Nigerial context, Peter P. Ekeh; legitimizing democracy - the role of the highly educated elite, Paul A. Beckett. Part 3 The failure of transition: democratization under military rule and repression in Nigeria, Richard Joseph; obstacles to democratization in Nigeria, Jibrin Ibrahim; transition without end - from hope to despair - reflections of a participant-observer, Oyeleye Oyediran; 1993 - crisis and breakdown of Nigeria's transition to democracy, David Emelifeonwu. Part 4 Identities and contexts: women and the dilemma of politics in Nigeria, Pat Ama Tokunbo Williams; Nigerian unity and the tensions of democracy - geo-cultural zones and north-south legacies, John N. Paden; Christian radicalism and Nigerian politics, Toyin Falola; Muslims, state, and the struggle for democratic transition in Nigeria - from co-operation to conflict, Sabo Bako; politics and the economy - a downward spiral, Peter Lewis. Part 5 Institutional framework: politics and the search for accommodation in Nigeria - will rotational consociationalism suffice?, Chudi Uwazurike; federalism, ethnicity and regionalism in Nigeria, Rotimi T. Suberu; party systems and civil society, Adigun Agbaje; local institutions, civil society and democratization in Nigeria, 1986-1993, Alex Gboyega; traditional rulers and the dilemma of democratic transitions in Nigeria, Olufemi Vaughan.
