Senegal: the development and fragility of semidemocracy

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Book chapter

Title:	Senegal: the development and fragility of semidemocracy
Author:	Coulon, C.
Book title:	Democracy in developing countries
Year:	1988
Pages:	140-178
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Senegal
Subjects:	democracy political history
Abstract:	A survey of historical experience in Senegal shows that democracy has had mixed success in that country. In this analysis, three periods have been singled out. The first covers the period from the beginning of the century to independence in 1960. It is characterized by the progressive extension of rights and liberties within the framework first of colonization and then of decolonization. The second period extends from independence to 1976 and is set off by a de facto one-party State. Since 1976, Senegal has embarked little by little on an experiment in democracy. In the last analysis, the country appears today to be a semidemocracy. The factors that have played in favour of democracy relate to Senegal's history and political culture, as well as to its relative ethnic equilibrium and religious homogeneity. On the other hand, the weight of the State, economic - and, to a certain extent, political - dependence, and the phenomenon of clientelism have functioned as limits to democracy. Notes, ref.