Democracy and Traditional Bantu Governance: Towards a New Paradigm of Economic and Social Development in Africa

Claver Boundja, Miland Gaël Dorselin Kinzila

Marien Ngouabi University, Republic of Congo

This study attempts to demonstrate the limits of Western participatory democracy, with a view to proposing Bantu-inspired political governance consistent with African cultures. For the past ten years, people have been rising up in Western countries to denounce the failings of their democratic systems: democracy has become an autocracy or a plutocracy. However, Western governments continue to impose their political model in Africa, while failing to meet the vital needs of their people. It is therefore urgent to think of a new type of political governance, much more concerned with the lives of citizens. Traditional Bantu governance constitutes a model to be revisited and updated, in a world where citizens feel exploited by governments. Our objective is to propose a political theory based on consensual governance and the well-being of citizens, in accordance with the traditions of ancient Africa. It is necessary to affirm that the solution to the problems posed by current Western democracy can only come from alternative political models, experienced by other traditions in the world, notably by the Bantu traditions in Africa.

Article link: https://www.asianinstituteofresearch.org/JSParchives/democracy-and-traditional-bantu-governance%3A-towards-a-new-paradigm-of-economic-and-social-development-in-africa