LINK BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE COMPLICATED
Ayan M. Alsayed, Counselor in International Education and Development, 2008, Advancing Democracy Through Education: US influence abroad and domestic practices, eds. E. Stevic & B. Levinson, p. 78-9
Donors often describe the civic education programs they fund as intended to address issues of governance by promoting democracy. However; this understanding of how democracy, civic education and governance are linked is simplistic. Not all democracies demonstrate good governance, and not all countries with good governance are democratic. For example, Indonesia has some elements of democracy, but suffers from bad governance, which is reflected in very high levels of corruption. In Singapore, by contrast, the government restricts freedom of speech and association, but is greatly respected for its otherwise good governance and low levels of corruption. Clearly the relationship between governance and democracy is more complicated that is often presented. Donors interested in civic education programming need to be aware of the nature of the relationship between governance and democracy in the countries they are supporting, and develop programs that support strengths in each area.
Democratization Doesn’t Reduce Corruption
DEMOCRATIZATION AND LIBERALIZATION DON’T NECESSARILY LEAD TO LESS CORRUPTION
Robert Charlick, Political Science Professor, Cleveland State University, 1993, Corruption and Reform 7:177-187, p. 178
If controlling corruption depends on improving governance, however, how is it likely to be affected by political liberalization and the movement toward democratization in Africa? For some, the linkage seems close. The direction of this linkage, however, is not always evident. Many analysts agree that the fate of liberalization and democratization may well lie with the ability of new regimes to successfully cope with corruption (Klitgaard, forthcoming). Few, however, would contend that liberalization or democratization in and of itself is sufficient to curb systemic corruption. Clearly improved governance and democratization are not identical or necessarily synchronous processes.
AFRICAN DEMOCRATIZATION HAS NOT REDUCED CORRUPTION
Steven P. Riley, Social Science Professor- Staffordshire University, 1993, Corruption and Reform, 7:249-261, p. 259
The development of a freer and more open politics in Africa does not necessarily mean that the temptation to reward political supporters with jobs and favors has disappeared. Incoming elites still face pressure to secure political payoffs. Democratizing politics in Africa can also involve substantial political and administrative corruption, for example in Nigeria. The challenge facing many of the newly reformed regimes will be to show how the can use their new powers to good ends without succumbing to such pitfalls.
Democratization Increases Corruption
DEMOCRATIZATION IN AFRICA INCREASES OPPORTUNITIES AND MOTIVES FOR CORRUPTION
Robert Charlick, Political Science Professor, Cleveland State University, 1993, Corruption and Reform 7:177-187, p. 185-6
As new groups enter the political process and use democratic means to establish new governments, they may perceive the game as winner-takes-all. Two dangers have already emerged from majoritarianism. First, the new winners may now see that they have the same right to exploit the instruments of power and to extract rents as did the old rulers. This is a danger for the MMD government in Zambia.
This is all the more likely where the new winners fear that their tenure may be short, thus giving them added incentive to get what they can now. In such an environment, corruption, both in campaigning, and once in office, may intensify. The scramble and corruption involved in winning nominations in Ghana and Nigeria make this point.
The old guard, having lost in a transition produced by the National Conference, or in a democratic election, may be highly motivated to use whatever means are necessary, including violence and blatant corruption, to win back power. It may respond very similarly when it is confronted with a credible electoral challenge which could remove it from power. This appears to be all the more true where the old guard has been dominated by a vulnerable ethnic minority. The cases of Togo, Congo, and Kenya are significant. The case of Niger must be watched closely for this.
Accountability procedures need not always be used to contain corruption. They can be used to demand it. There is evidence from Nigeria, for example, that in at least a few states elected representatives have threatened to use such accountability methods as impeachment to demand corruption from state administrators.
DEMOCRATIZATION CAN EXACERBATE CORRUPTION PROBLEMS
Michael Johnston, Political Science Professor Colgate University, 1993, Corruption and Reform, 7:189-204, p. 191
Democratization – meaning, broadly, movement toward more open and less coercive politics, with meaningful elections and guarantees of civil liberties – is not only a less familiar setting in which to think about corruption and reform; it also adds to the complexity of the problem. When more and more private interests have routine knowledge of and access to government agencies and officials, administrative reforms are put into a new and uncertain setting. Official policies and procedures may acquire more legitimacy; but effective private demand for public goods may increase even more rapidly. This will be especially likely when economic conditions are poor, and when democratization is perceived as an uncertain and temporary “window of opportunity,” as in fact it may be. Democratization may thus exacerbate existing administrative and personnel problems without enhancing government’s abilities to deliver on its policy commitments.
LIBERALIZATION AND DEMOCRATIZATION INCREASE CORRUPTION – MANY REASONS
Michael Johnston, Political Science Professor Colgate University, 1993, Corruption and Reform, 7:189-204, p. 196
Liberalization of society and the economy is also likely to produce more inequality of incomes and wealth, further widening the gap between nominal civil service salaries and the incomes of other able and ambitious individuals. Liberalization of politics and society may also bring ethnic, religious, and other communal identities more to the force, intensifying the personal obligations officials feel to people of their own backgrounds, and creating rival loyalties to compete with “public service ideologies.” Finally, more open government may facilitate the “capture” of some agencies by the very interests and industries they are supposed to regulate, a familiar enough result in the United States and one that may institutionalize corrupt relationships in rapidly changing societies. Thus it may be that more corruption is one of the costs of democratization in the short run; it may defeat or hinder the effectiveness of “micro” reforms such as those we have considered.
DEMOCRATIZATION WITHOUT GOOD GOVERNANCE CONDITIONALITIES CAN INCREASE CORRUPTION
Robert Charlick, Political Science Professor, Cleveland State University, 1993, Corruption and Reform 7:177-187, p. 178
The Africa Bureau of AID has dealt with this issue by promoting a concept it has called “democratic governance.” While recognizing the distinction between these notions, it argues that AID should support the development of a combination of aspects of democracy with notions of good governance, favoring the systems in which both are more fully realized. The Africa Bureau’s approach to democratization emphasizes accountability through open and competitive choice processes, adherence to a standard of integrity of life which limits the most flagrant abuses of power and the most egregious costs of opposition, and the notion of sharing power in public policy through the recognition of a legitimate role for plural actors. The governance concept it favors focuses on improvements in the effectiveness and responsiveness of the public sector and upon governance patters which are more open and predictable (based on known and widely accepted rules). It is the hypothesis of the Africa Bureau that efforts to foster “democratic governance” should help address the problem of systemic corruption. When democratization takes place without improvements in governance, however, corruption may proceed unchecked, or may even intensify.
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