2000 年 2000 巻 123 号 p. 60-76,L10
The purpose of this essay is to examine the regime transition; from authoritarian and socialistic to democratic polity and market orientated economy in African states on the basis of the arguments about “Globalizing Democracy, ” and “Global Democracy.”
As David Held and Anthony Meagre show, today, goods, capital, people, knowledge, images, communications as well as crime, culture, pollutants, drugs, fashions and beliefs, readily flow across territorial boundaries. Transnational networks, social movements and relationships are extensive in virtually all areas of human activity. The existence of global systems of trade, finance and production binds together the prosperity and fate of households, communities and nations across the world. It might be possible to call these phenomena “Globalization.” It might be quite impossible for African states to avoid such wave as “Globalization” and “Globalizing Democracy” in the contemporary global situations even they try to do. In this situation, the hypothesis of my argument is that the wave of “Globalizing Democracy” or “Global Democracy” will lead the African states to political instability when they still can not establish the institutions. As a case study of this theme, Zimbabwe is taken up in this essay.
External actors have been putting pressure on African states for the regime transition implicitly and explicitly since the end of Cold War. External actors, the IMF and the World Bank especially, and the donor countries, have been making effort to democratize their polity and liberalize their economy. But the rapid liberalizing economy will also deteriorate economic and social situations in African states. The Zimbabwean case shows that as a result of economic liberalization and democratization, the rich were richer and richer, and the poor were poorer and poorer. The social stratification has been accelerated drastically. After the rapid expansion of political participation, many political parties emerged but could not sustain themselves because of their institutional weakness. The people's interests were deserved and their frustrations accumulated. On the other had, the political parties could not articulate and aggregate people's interest. It led to social and economic disturbances and to political instability finally.
African states are in the middle of “Globalization.” But if the rapid “Globalizing Democracy” is leading them to socio-economic disturbances and political instability, external actors will be required to accept their step by step reform from the middle and long term perspective.