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Imagining democracy: political culture and democratisation in Buganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2011

Mikael Karlström
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Extract

Most of the recent literature on democratisation in Africa has paid insufficient attention to popular understandings of democracy and the local reception of democratic practices. This article examines the articulation of the concept of democracy with existing socio-political conceptions in contemporary Buganda. The standard translation of the word ‘democracy’ into Luganda tends to assimilate it to a local political cosmology which emphasises the values of justice, civility and open communication between rulers and subjects, and involves a conception of sociopolitical hierarchy modelled on the system of clans and kingship. Key ideological features of this conception include its construction from the bottom up, the singularity of power, regulated competition and nested solidarities. Such liberal democratic practices and institutions as elections, political parties and representation are not part of the local definition of democracy. In fact, political parties are widely condemned as antithetical to democratic governance. At a more pragmatic level, however, some of the democratisation initiatives of the current Ugandan government have given rise to a new popular allegiance to democratic elections. These reforms are unusual in that they resonate significantly with local political values and conceptions. The article suggests that more attention should be devoted to the coherence of democratisation initiatives with local socio-political conceptions.

Résumé

La plupart de la littérature récente sur la démocratisation en Afrique n'a prêté assez d'attention aux compréhensions populaires de la démocratie et à la manière dont les pratiques démocratiques sont reçues localement. Cet article examine l'articulation du concept de la démocratie au sein des conceptions socio-politiques au Buganda contemporain. La traduction correcte du mot ‘démocratie’ en Luganda a tendance à l'assimiler à une cosmologie politique locale qui met l'accent sur les valeurs de justice, civilité, et communication ouverte entre les dirigeants et leurs sujets, et implique une conception de la hiérarchie socio-politique copiée sur le système des clans et leurs souverains. Les charactéristiques idéologiques principales de cette conception sont sa construction du début à la fin, la singularité du pouvoir, une compétition régularisée, et des solidarités bien nichés. Des pratiques et institutions libérates telles que les élections, les partis politiques, et la représentation ne font pas parti de la définition locale de la démocratie. En fait, les partis politiques sont largement condemnés comme étant antithétiques à un gouvernement démocratique. A un niveau plus pragmatique, cependant, certaines initiatives de démocratisation de la part du gouvernement ugandais ont donné lieu à une nouvelle allégeance populaire aux élections démocratiques. Ces réformes sont inhabituelles parce qu'elles ont une résonance significative avec les valeurs et conceptions politiques locales. Cet article suggère que l'on devrait preter plus d'attention à la cohérence des initiatives de démocratisation avec les conceptions socio-politiques locales.

Type
What makes a citizen?
Information
Africa , Volume 66 , Issue 4 , October 1996 , pp. 485 - 505
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1996

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