新作坊 Humanity Innovation and Social Practice

Civil society, emigration and democracy in africa: an alternative proposition

摘要：

This paper will demonstrate that emigration and the so-called "brain drain" does not necessarily hinder democratic transition and consolidation in Africa. Domestic challenges like poverty, disease, low literacy rates, ethnic and religious strife continue to wreak havoc on the political and economic systems, making democratic inroads all the more difficult. Furthermore, there is sufficient evidence of the economic and demographic impact on emigration out of Africa, the so-called "brain drain" effect. The majority of the literature on the exodus only assumes negative consequences on the democratic development of African states. I suggest that civil society actors and emigration issues need to be investigated more closely as an avenue to accommodate democratic efforts in Africa. Thus, this paper seeks to identify those overlooked challenges to democratic consolidation throughout Africa.