Suchergebnisse

The 'crisis' approach in a variety of manifestations has been represented as the acme of political development theorizing. In assessing the criterion which makes one conceptual model superior to another the 'crisis' theory is critically appraised. An exploration into the philosophy of social science expresses that the choice of a framework be underpinned by an awareness of its uses in the realms of political analysis & political action. Applying this mode of evaluation to 2 main variants of crisis models--one by G. Almond, S. Flanagan, & R. Mundt, Ed's, (CRISIS, CHOICE, AND CHANGE: HISTORICAL STUDIES OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, Boston, Mass: Little Brown, 1973) & the other by L. Binder, J. Coleman, J. LaPalombara, L. Pye, S. Verba & M. Weiner (CRISIS AND SEQUENCES IN POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, Princeton, NJ: Princeton U Press, 1971)--neither is found to possess sufficient explanatory power based on a necessary provision of "law-like" generalizations about political development. The expectation is for these inadequate models to shift from explanation to prescription of political action. Modified HA.

The International Studies Programme of the University of Toronto sponsored a conference on this topic from 6 to 8 April 1973, with participants not only from Canada, but also from Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main aim was to assess the extent to which both radical and liberal writers are correct in ascribing to the working class a fairly passive rôle in Africa's economic and political development. In selecting the 13 papers for presentation, an attempt was made to provide a balanced coverage of Africa south of the Sahara, although Nigeria justifiably received the greatest attention. The discussions were particularly rewarding because of the presence of seven scholars and trade union leaders from West and East Africa, as well as a number of Canadian union officials who had served as advisers in Africa. The attendance of such an array of expertise was only possible because of the generosity of the University of Toronto, the Canada Council, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Canadian National Office of the United Steelworkers of America.

The historical role of the working class has recently been subject to reassessment. Frequently repudiated are the Marxist views that the proletariat constitutes either, as Marx's and Engels' classic scheme would have it, the revolutionary social force in capitalist societies, or, as Lenin believed, the pre-eminent element in a revolutionary alliance with the poorest strata of the peasantry, or, finally, as Mao holds, the leadership cadres needed to mobilize the downtrodden peasant masses into conscious, revolutionary action. Consider, for instance, the meager role attributed to the working class in Barrington Moore's brilliant effort, in Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, to delineate three historical routes to modernity.

Cet article veut montrer que des notions comme celles de patron-client et de faction sont essentielles à la compréhension de plusieurs situations de conflit en Afrique. La notion de patron-client, qui est préférée aux notions voisines de « patronage » et de « machine politique », peut être définie comme une relation duale, caractérisée par l'inégalité des statuts, la réciprocité et l'interaction de face à face. Un réseau de relations patron-client est fait d'une série de relations de ce type, formant une structure pyramidale dont les liaisons aboutissent en un centre, et ce parfois grâce à plusieurs patrons intermédiaires. Quant à la faction, on peut la définir comme le segment de ce réseau qui est apte à entrer en compétition pour obtenir de la richesse, du pouvoir et du statut à l'intérieur d'une organisation ou d'un territoire donné. L'importance en Afrique des divisions entre factions se laisse voir par les insuffisances même de deux modèles conceptuels qui sont souvent utilisées dans l'analyse des situations de conflit: le modèle qui se fonde sur les clivages ethniques ou « tribaux », et le modèle qui se fonde sur les conflits de classe. C'est seulement en introduisant des concepts comme ceux de patron-client et de faction qu'on peut rendre compte des anomalies observées en ces deux modèles. En conclusion, on s'interroge sur les conditions sociales, économiques et politiques ainsi que sur les conséquences de la « politique de clientèle ». Une première conclusion provisoire veut que l'existence des factions à l'intérieur des armées, des partis, des organismes gouvernementaux, des syndicats, des coopératives et des associations tribales est à la fois une conséquence et une cause de leur faible degré d'institutionnalisation. Une seconde conclusion souligne la contradiction entre les appels publics qui demandent de se sacrifier dans l'intérêt de la nation à construire, et la pratique privée fort répandue qui consiste à établir, à la façon des mercenaires, des relations de client à patron. On note enfin que la politique de clientèle peut, dans certaines circonstances, contribuer à l'intégration politique, en jetant des ponts entre leaders de différents groupes ethniques et de différentes strates socio-économiques.

FACTIONAL CLEAVAGE, DEFINED AS CONFLICT THAT UNITES INDIVIDUALS OF VARYING SOCIAL BACKGROUNDS, IS A CRUCIAL ELEMENT OF THE CONFLICT SITUATIONS IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. ETHNIC EXPLANATIONS, GIVEN TO MOST CONFLICT SITUATIONS, DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE INTERGROUP COOPERATION BECOMING MORE EVIDENT, OR THE INTRAGROUP CLEAVAGES WITHIN CLASSES. PATRON-CLIENT POLITICS ARE USEFUL IN EXPLAINING BOTH OF THESE PHENOMENA. THESE RELATIONSHIPS THRIVE WHERE THERE IS LOW NATIONAL INTEGRATION; THEY OFTEN CUT ACROSS ORGANIZATIONAL & REGIONAL BOUNDARIES, & POLITICAL LEADERS USE THEM TO GAIN POWER. FACTIONALISM IS RELATED TO PATRON-CLIENT POLITICS AS A FORM OF CONFLICT OVER ACCESS TO WEALTH, POWER, & STATUS WITH MINOR IDEOLOGICAL & POLICY IMPLICATIONS. BECAUSE CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS IS WEAK IN AFRICA, PATRON-CLIENT POLITICS HOLD SWAY IN THE POLITICAL ARENA; FEW INDIVIDUALS VIEW STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN SOCIETY AS A MEANS TO UPWARD MOBILITY. THEY CLING TO THE POWERFUL PATRON IMAGE AS MEANS TO A BETTER FUTURE. AS LONG AS THIS SYSTEM IS PERPETUATED, CHANCES FOR MAJOR CHANGES &/OR REVOLUTION AMONG THE DISADVANTAGED ARE MINIMAL. B. WEISBROD.

Originally published in 1975, this volume reassesses the historical, political and social role of African workers and examines the extent to which a working class has formed and undertaken collective action in various parts of Africa. The book is based on primary historical sources or first-hand experiences. The contributors are linked by their belief in the legitimacy of action by organised workers to create a more just society.