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Introduction -- Hegelian and Marxian discourses on state and civil society -- Gramsci, civil society and democracy -- Habermas, Foucault : discourses on civil society and democracy -- Dialectics of political change -- Relations of forces in state and civil society : synthesis and assumptions -- Relations of forces and authoritarian outcomes -- Crises, state mediation and change -- State, civil society and the institutionalisation of democracy -- Conclusion.

"This book examines the complex relationship between the state and civil society and the impact that this has had on democratization processes in Nigeria from colonial times to the present. Expanding notions of democracy, the author builds a theoretical understanding of civil society to show how it can be both antithetical to, and an ally of the state in the struggle for democratization. Combining the neo-Gramscian framework with discursive perspectives from Habermas and Foucault, the book takes a dialectical approach that traces the incarnations of the state and civil society and relates the mutual connections of the two spaces. This book will be of interest to scholars of African politics, democratization and civil society"--

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1. Hegelian and Marxian Discourses on State and Civil Society -- 2. Gramsci, Civil Society and Democracy -- 3. Habermas, Foucault: Discourses on Civil Society and Democracy -- 4. Dialectics of Political Change -- 5. Relations of Forces in State and Civil Society: Synthesis and Assumptions -- 6. Relations of Forces and Authoritarian Outcomes -- 7. Crises, State Mediation and Change -- 8. State, Civil Society and the Institutionalization of Democracy -- 9. Conclusion -- Index.

Introduction -- Hegelian and Marxian discourses on state and civil society -- Gramsci, civil society and democracy -- Habermas, Foucault : discourses on civil society and democracy -- Dialectics of political change -- Relations of forces in state and civil society : synthesis and assumptions -- Relations of forces and authoritarian outcomes -- Crises, state mediation and change -- State, civil society and the institutionalisation of democracy -- Conclusion.

The sweep of the third-wave moment of democratic impulses through Africa saw mass movements against authoritarian rule and the demand for liberalisation of political spaces. Ruling-group compromises and promises of democratisation diluted the fervour of this demand. Conservative interests captured the process by creating formal institutions of political competition but without corresponding necessary conditions for democracy. They set up regimes of political succession that rendered the political field a closed space. National trends in succession are linked to the discursive paradigm that underpins third-wave democratisation. Selected studies of succession in African states indicate trends towards illegitimate and unpopular self-succession, hereditary trends, the appointment of proxies and only a few instances of emerging liberal democratic regimes. The dominance of perverse third-wave trajectories in Africa points to the inadequacy of the minimalist epistemology upon which the idea of the third wave is based.
[Traces de la troisième vague: la théorie de la démocratie, la démocratisation et le dilemme de la succession politique en Afrique]. La marche de la troisième vague d'impulsions démocratiques à travers l'Afrique a engendré des mouvements de masse contre le régime autoritaire et la demande de libéralisation des espaces politiques. Des compromis de la classe dirigeante et des promesses de démocratisation ont dilué la ferveur de cette demande. Des intérêts conservateurs ont capturé le processus en créant des institutions formelles de compétition politique, mais sans les conditions correspondantes nécessaires à la démocratie. Ils mettent en place des régimes de succession politique qui ont rendu le champ politique un espace clos. Les tendances nationales de succession sont liées au paradigme discursif qui sous-tend la troisième vague de démocratisation. Les études sélectionnées de succession dans les états africains indiquent une tendance à la succession illégitime et impopulaire de soi-même, les tendances héréditaires, la nomination des mandataires et quelques cas seulement de nouveaux régimes de démocratie libérale. La prédominance des trajectoires perverses de la troisième vague en Afrique souligne l'insuffisance de l'épistémologie minimaliste sur lequel l'idée de la troisième vague est fondée.

Mots-clés: troisième vague; démocratization; procédure; substantive; succession; élection

Development studies is a beneficiary of knowledge resources from several disciplines including political theory's analytic and prescriptive input. The dominant background of political theory and other disciplinary contributions to development studies is the liberal thought. Liberal theses on development seem to presume that development only makes meaning from such perspective. However, tensions arise in knowledge claims between the neoclassical liberals and alternative liberal scholars especially the neo-Keynesian on the one hand and more radical neo-Marxist thoughts on the other hand. The tension is centrally concerned with contention between the market sovereignty of the neoclassicals and state interventionism of the Keynesian and neo Marxist radical thoughts. These contentions draw in the role of the state in development and hence, create an opening for political theory's intervention. This paper establishes the nexus of political theory and development studies by focusing its subject matter, methodology and social commitments. The main claim of the work is that the dominant liberal ideas on development fail to capture the realities of all societies, yet the alternative frameworks, despite their promise, have yet to elaborate their tenets to capture the nuances of developing societies in Africa. Accordingly, the decisive intervention in defining the roles of both citizens and state for a development based on constructivist understanding of society is a necessary role of political theory in development studies. Resumo Os estudos de desenvolvimento são beneficiados pelos recursos de conhecimento de várias disciplinas, incluindo os inputs analíticos e prescritivos da teoria política. O pano de fundo dominante da teoria política e outras contribuições disciplinares aos estudos de desenvolvimento é o pensamento liberal. As teses liberais sobre desenvolvimento aparentam pressupor que o desenvolvimento apenas faz sentido a partir dessa perspetiva. No entanto, as tensões surgem sob a forma de procura de conhecimento entre os liberais neoclássicos e estudiosos liberais alternativos, especialmente o neokeynesiano, por um lado, e os pensamentos neo-marxistas mais radicais, por outro lado. A tensão está centralmente relacionada com a disputa entre a soberania de mercado dos neoclássicos e o intervencionismo estatal dos pensamentos radicais keynesianos e neo-marxistas. Estas disputas atraem o papel do Estado em desenvolvimento e, portanto, criam uma abertura para a intervenção da teoria política. Este artigo estabelece o nexo da teoria política e estudos de desenvolvimento ao focar-se na temática em questão, na metodologia e em compromissos sociais. A principal reivindicação do artigo é que as ideias liberais dominantes sobre o desenvolvimento falham em captar as realidades de todas as sociedades, ainda que as estruturas alternativas, apesar das suas promessas, ainda não tenham elaborado os seus princípios para capturar as nuances das sociedades em desenvolvimento em África. Consequentemente, a intervenção decisiva na definição dos papeis dos cidadãos e do Estado para um desenvolvimento baseado na compreensão construtivista da sociedade é um papel necessário da teoria política nos estudos de desenvolvimento.

The past two decades that coincide with the return of civil rule in most African countries have witnessed the reinforcement of ethnic nationalism and separatist agitations. While scholarly attention has focused on ethnicity to explain the revival of ethnic nationalism, how ethnic and class discourses conflate in the pursuit of ethnic nationalism remains understudied. Using a qualitative-dominant approach, this article interrogates how the Igbo petty bourgeoisie use ethnicity to mask the underlying differences in their material conditions in relation to the alienated masses. It also examines how these differences shape post-war Igbo nationalism. In the main, this article argues that the intersection of ethnic and class discourses is underpinned by unequal distribution of rights and powers accruing from productive resources. This unequal distribution of rights and powers results in differential material well-being and gives rise to conflicts between the dominant and subordinate classes. This explains the divergent approaches of the different factions of Igbo petty bourgeoisie to Igbo nationalism in Nigeria. The article concludes that understanding the political economy of the intersection of ethnic and class discourses is relevant for resolving the nationality question and the Biafra secessionist agitations in Nigeria and others across Africa.