Not so long ago people of broadly liberal persuasion were writing about democracy in Africa in tones of wonder: It was a second ‘liberation’, a second ‘independence’–indeed, if not a Second Coming then at least a ‘virtual miracle’. More over, democracy seemed to be the magic key to further treasures: accountability, transparency, equality, social justice, even conflict resolution and ‘development’. This is curious, as people of liberal persuasion elsewhere (in the past and now) have been reserved, even scathing, about democracy. What’s the problem with democracy? These misgivings tend to turn on two sets of issues: what democracy is supposed to do, and its claims to moral superiority.
