Africa’s future prosperity lies in individual countries on the continent – like European Union member states – pooling their markets, development resources and efforts to create a new good governance regime.
The African Union is of course one attempt at this. But there are no entry requirements for joining the AU, in terms of democratic credentials or prudent management of the country’s economy. The AU depends on African countries voluntarily adhering to standards of good governance, accountability and democratization. European countries must meet strict entry requirements to join the EU. Only those who meet the criteria receive EU benefits, such as cash aid packages or new investment into poor regions.
Because membership in the AU is largely voluntary, countries like Zimbabwe can still participate even if their governments have appalling human rights records and spectacularly mismanage their countries’ economics and politics. Their peers should realize that AU membership is attractive and can carry a price-tag: an entry requirement that demands a certain level of democratization would go a long way toward fostering lasting democracy on the continent.
For example, EU rules demand that members repeal repressive national laws. If that were the case in Africa, the notorious “insult laws” that outlaw criticism of many state leaders – often inherited from colonial periods – would be the first to be scrapped. By compelling members to follow a set of good economic and social policies, the citizens of African countries outside the AU would also have a clear set of standards against which they could measure their own governments’ performance. Citizens of non-member countries would be able to use compulsory AU governance criteria to put pressure on their governments to deliver.
This could potentially energise many African nations, as citizens become capable of measuring their own governments’ performance – whether members of the AU or not – against credible continent-wide governance norms. Many African governing parties and administrations astonishingly have no clearly detailed visions for what kind of society they want to foster, with measurable indicators over time, other than a blunt desire to gain and retain power. If Africa wishes to emulate some of Europe’s successes, African countries will need to cede some of their sovereignty.
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