[ Analyse de la forme des gouvernements postcoloniaux en Afrique : Des républiques ou des monarchies déguisées en républiques ? ]
Volume 24, Issue 4, November 2018, Pages 1567–1578
KILWA SIBUMBA Eustache1
1 Relations Internationales, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2018 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Are postcolonial African States monarchies or republics disguised as monarchies ? That is the question that guides us in this article. We started our analylis from the observation of what has been happening in the African republics since independence : the presidential power that goes from father to son (Republic Democratic of Congo, Togolese Republic, Gabonese Republic) and the extravagant longevity of some African presidents to the presidency (Muammar Gaddafi : 41 years, Omar Bongo : 41 years … Teodoro Obiang Nguema : 38 years …). By observing what is happening in Africa, the postcolonial African States, although bearing the name of republic, are in reality neither republics nor monarchies. The postcolonial African States are not republics because public life escapes citizens who must elect their leaders for specific mandates, who must do the democratic control and who must express freely on the management of public affairs. But the postcolonial African States are not monarchies either because policies are still in competition ; elections are still organised, even if in many cases they do not lead to regime change. In reality, the postcolonial African States are monarchies disguised as republics or republics defrocked. Better, they are monarchical-republics. The possibility of overthrowing the government by elections does not exist, only assassination, rebellion, or armed uprising can contadict the principale of indefinite continuation at the head of the State. Hence the rise of internal armed conflicts in Africa.
Author Keywords: Dictatorship, Conflict, Election, Heredity, Longevity, Despotism, Constitution, Revision.
Volume 24, Issue 4, November 2018, Pages 1567–1578
KILWA SIBUMBA Eustache1
1 Relations Internationales, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2018 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Are postcolonial African States monarchies or republics disguised as monarchies ? That is the question that guides us in this article. We started our analylis from the observation of what has been happening in the African republics since independence : the presidential power that goes from father to son (Republic Democratic of Congo, Togolese Republic, Gabonese Republic) and the extravagant longevity of some African presidents to the presidency (Muammar Gaddafi : 41 years, Omar Bongo : 41 years … Teodoro Obiang Nguema : 38 years …). By observing what is happening in Africa, the postcolonial African States, although bearing the name of republic, are in reality neither republics nor monarchies. The postcolonial African States are not republics because public life escapes citizens who must elect their leaders for specific mandates, who must do the democratic control and who must express freely on the management of public affairs. But the postcolonial African States are not monarchies either because policies are still in competition ; elections are still organised, even if in many cases they do not lead to regime change. In reality, the postcolonial African States are monarchies disguised as republics or republics defrocked. Better, they are monarchical-republics. The possibility of overthrowing the government by elections does not exist, only assassination, rebellion, or armed uprising can contadict the principale of indefinite continuation at the head of the State. Hence the rise of internal armed conflicts in Africa.
Author Keywords: Dictatorship, Conflict, Election, Heredity, Longevity, Despotism, Constitution, Revision.
Abstract: (french)
Les Etats africains postcoloniaux sont-ils des monarchies ou des républiques déguisées en monarchies ? Telle est la question qui nous guide dans cet article. Nous sommes partis de l’observation de certaines pratiques dans quelques républiques africaines depuis les indépendances : la transmission du pouvoir présidentiel qui se passe de père à fils (RDC, Togo, Gabon) et la longévité extravagante de certains présidents africains au pouvoir (Mouammar Kadhafi : 41 ans, Omar Bongo : 41 ans … Teodoro Obiang Nguema : 38 ans ….). A priori, en observant ces pratiques, les Etats africains postcoloniaux, bien que portant le nom de république, ne sont en réalité ni des républiques ni des monarchies. Ils ne sont pas des républiques dans la mesure où la vie publique échappe aux citoyens censés d’élire leurs dirigeants pour des mandats bien déterminés, de mener le contrôle démocratique et de s’exprimer librement sur la gestion des affaires publiques. Mais les Etats africains ne sont pas non plus des monarchies car les politiques sont quand même en concurrence, des élections sont quand même organisées, même si dans beaucoup de cas elles ne conduisent pas au changement de régime. Ce sont des monarchies déguisées en républiques ou des républiques défroquées. Mieux, ce sont des républiques-monarchiques. La possibilité de renverser le gouvernement par la voie des urnes n’existant pratiquement pas, seul l’assassinat, la rébellion ou le soulèvement armé peuvent contredire le principe de la continuation indéfinie au pouvoir. D’où le regain des conflits armés intra-étatiques en Afrique.
Author Keywords: Dictature, Conflit, Election, Hérédité, Longévité, Despotisme, Constitution, Révision.
How to Cite this Article
KILWA SIBUMBA Eustache, “Analysis of the form of postcolonial governments in Africa : Republics or monarchies disguised as Republics ?,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 1567–1578, November 2018.
