Contextualizing Constitutionalism: Multiparty Democracy in the African Political Matrix

There are certain structural factors in the demographic composition, political economy, and history of many African countries, which can establish a hostile political matrix to multi-party democracy. From this matrix emanates the prevalence of antagonistic relations and competition among ethnic groups, as well as the problem of abuse of incumbency. The main argument advanced in this book is that there is a need for contextualizing constitutionalism in order to respond to these problems and to optimize the chances of prosperous, enduring democracies in Africa. Contextualization of constitutionalism is the process through which the generic concept of constitutionalism can be adapted, expanded, and effectively deployed to meet the specific criteria and needs of countries with different political environments from the regions where its concept was founded. This book applies a comparative case study of Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya to demonstrate how such contextualization might work. [Subject: Constitutional Law, Politics, African Law, International Law]