This! thesis! examines! democracy! assistance! to! Botswana.! Although! not! a!
transitional!democracy!of!the!third!wave,!Botswana,!which!is!actually!hailed!as!one!
the! African! continent’s! rare! success! stories! of! democratic! rule,! good! governance!
and!development,!has!been!a!recipient!of!democracy!assistance!since!at!least! the!
early!1970s.!This!specialized!type!of!foreign!aid,!whose!stated!objective!is!couched!
in! terms! of! strengthening! democracy!and!good!governance,! has! been! directed!at!
the!electoral!sphere,!certain!state!institutions,!and!some!civil!society!organizations.!
Given! Botswana’s! acknowledged! status! as! a! successful! democracy,! the!
thesis!seeks!to!understand!why!the!country!is!a!recipient!of!democracy!assistance.!
This!is!what!the!thesis!describes!as!the!paradox!of!Botswana’s democracy.!Yet!it!is!
also!evident!that!key!structural!features!seem!to!belie!its!depiction!as!a!successful!
democracy.!Political!power!is!very!much!centralized!on!the!president,!many!of!the!
country’s! political! institutions! remain! weak! despite! the! years! of! democracy!
assistance,!and!the!extent!of!inequality!in!the!country!remains!a!serious!problem.!
So! a! second! paradox! emerges,! namely! that! despite! decades! of! democracy!
assistance!Botswana’s!democracy!does!not!appear!to!have!progressed!structurally!
beyond!what!emerged!at!the!time!of!independence.
The!thesis!explores!these!two!paradoxes!from!a neoXGramscian!perspective.!
It! was! found! that! democracy! assistance! seeks! to! consolidate! procedural!
democracy,!or!polyarchy.!It!was!also!found!that!this assures!the!necessary!political!
stability! required! to! keep! the! country! suitable! for! ongoing! development! of! the!
private! sector.! Democratic! assistance! to! the! organizations! of! civil! society! was!
primarily! disposed! towards! promoting! the! development! of! the! private! sector! in!
the! country.! In! addition! to! guaranteeing! stability,! the! preoccupation! with! a!
polyarchical! form! of! democracy! performed! a! hegemonic! function! by! separating!
economics! from! politics,! thus! legitimating! the! levels! of! inequality! generated! by!
neoliberal!capitalism.!On! the!other!hand,! the!support! for!state!institutions!can!be!
understood! to! make! the! state! more! effective,! particularly! with! respect! to!
performing!functions!required!by!the!free!market!system.!.!
But!the!donor!fixation!with!stability,!state!capacity,!and!development!of!the!
private! sector! is! pursued! at! the! expense! of! some! genuine,! and! long! overdue!
7

Projects

Currently no objects available

Currently no objects available