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| Title: | Powers in the Village: Rural Benin between Democratisation and Decentralisation |
| Authors: | Olivier de Sardan, Jean-Pierre Bierschenk, Thomas |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Periodical: | Africa: Journal of the International African Institute |
| Volume: | 73 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Pages: | 145-173 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Benin |
| Subjects: | democracy decentralization local government Politics and Government Development and Technology Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/3556886 |
| Abstract: | The Republic of Benin has often been cited as a model democracy in the African context. After years of pressure from bilateral aid donors, particularly France and Germany, municipal elections were held in 2002. This article addresses three related questions. How have free presidential and parliamentary elections affected political dynamics at the local level, especially in the rural areas where most people live? What do rural people think about the change of national regime? How will decentralization affect local government? Based on empirical research in rural Benin, it shows that democratization means more of the same hybrid and composite form of local government. The boundaries between the State and private organizations (including Northern NGOs), and between the national and local levels, remain blurred. Local political arenas are more fragmented than ever, and informal politics flourish. This not only dilutes power at the local level, as different veto powers block one another, it entails constant negotiation between those involved, making political processes less predictable and local political institutions less accountable. Decentralization is only making matters worse. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract] |
