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- Description:
- The paper discusses the themes of press responsibility and public opinion and their relevance within the current socio-political economic frameworks of African nations. It stresses the pertinent role of a democratized press in democratic political systems, and the role that the press can play within the democracies if they are conscious of the great responsibility that the current transition programmes of African nations places on them. In view of the rise of so many elites in Africa (those who almost always make headline news) and their great influence in mass media output as well as the economic considerations of many media organisations in news judgement, the paper reasserts the deep ethical and professional commitment of the mass media to protecting the underprivileged in society, interpreting their points of view and acting as the voice of the voiceless in society. The paper concludes that a holistic transition programme that recognises less government presence in mass media management and output is ideal for African nations. It also calls for more professional running of the press in Africa to ensure that they fit properly as society's watchdog, the fourth estate of the realm.
- Date Issued:
- 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- Military regimes in Nigeria exhibit patrimonial characteristics such as personal rule, absence of separation between the public and private realms, patron-client administrative networks, veneration of the ruler, massive corruption, ethnic/sectional-based support, and repression of opposition and violation of human rights. Most of the dangers posed by military rule to democracy is not really because of its intrinsic authoritarian posture, although it is the most perceptible. It is the patrimonial tendency in military rule that creates the most transcendent and pernicious effect on democracy because of unconcealed ethnic/sectional alignment of regimes. This generates inter-ethnic acrimony and rivalry, in effect, delegitimizes the state and state power, and consequently, engenders a hostile environment to the growth of democracy.
- Date Issued:
- 2000-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Science
- Date Issued:
- 1987-08-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Economy
- Description:
- Bad governance is a major contributor to poor service delivery in Africa. In Kenya, the level of accountability in the management of public affairs has consistently declined since independence. This is in spite of various legal instruments and watchdog institutions established to regulate and monitor the ethical conduct of public officials. This paper argues that the pattern of consolidation of power embarked upon by Kenya's post-colonial rulers was a major underlying factor in the deterioration of ethical standards in the public service. The construction of patron-clientilist relations were quite pronounced in this regard. The same goes for the deliberate manipulation of ethnicity. The paper concludes by advocating the adoption of a number of measures in order to enhance accountability in the public service of Kenya.
- Date Issued:
- 2003-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Science
- Description:
- Since the 1994 elections ushered in the Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress there have been claims that a stable, multi-racial democratic society has finally triumphed in South Africa. This article refutes such thesis; it examines the prospects for consolidating democracy, and argues that the lack of significant progress regarding social (class and race) and economic (ownership) relations under the GNU is likely to precipitate a political crisis. This could produce an authoritarian response and thereby severely compromise the democratic and socio-economic aspirations which inspired the anti-apartheid struggle.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-12-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Science
- Description:
- Review of: Nicholas Pronay and D.W. Spring (eds.). Propaganda, politics, and film, 1918-45. London: Macmillan Press, 1982
- Date Issued:
- 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Critical Arts
- Description:
- This paper discusses the development of modern mass media as a necessary attribute of the evolution of an integral Nigerian nation out of the many traditional ethnic communities. It shows that the traditional media which were the precolonial channels of communication were limited in the conduct of national commerce, religion, education, politics and government. The paper, however, contends that the potentials of the traditional media have not been fully explored, and calls for research to establish what roles such media can play in modern politics, and in grassroot development generally.
- Date Issued:
- 1987-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- This essay examines the role which the Nigerian media played in the transition from military rule to elected civilian government. It observes that the immediate political context of the transition was a post-Abacha liberalizing military administration as well as a resurgent civil society. This context meant that the media was able to play a relatively robust role in reporting and influencing the transition although the fact that the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime refused to repeal several "death decrees" targeted at the media remained a key constraining factor on the boldness and imaginativeness of the press in its reporting and monitoring of the transition. Furthermore, while the media, in all its plurality, offered coverage to all of the political parties, it was equally clear that the better financially-endowed People's Democratic Party (PDP) which also emerged as the dominant party was able to win greater advantage over the two other political parties, namely, the All People's Party and the Alliance for Democracy, through the purchase of advertisement space in the print and electronic media. On the whole, the Nigerian media played its role in the transition with credit and whatever weaknesses are observed in its performance and in the skewing of the outcomes of the transition owe more to the shallowness of the transition itself and less to the shortcomings of the media.
- Date Issued:
- 2000-12-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Science
- Description:
- Interest in the concept of civil society received a boost from the demise of communism in Eastern Europe, as more attention became focused on nongovernmental actors. It is not surprising that the concept has engaged the minds of many social scientists. Among the various interpretations are civil society as an "external or inferior state" as "bourgeois state", and as "state per se". In Africa, the concept is a useful tool in explaining some of the development problems that have persisted through the years, especially in the areas of democracy and political communication. In the illustrative case of Cameroon, it is argued that poor professionalization among journalists is a major factor in the media's failure to promote democracy and civil society. The prospects for civil society are dim in Cameroon and many other African countries.
- Date Issued:
- 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- This paper discusses the contribution of the mass media to the transition from single to multi-party democracy in Kenya. Considering the media as part and parcel of civil society, the author argues that access to the mass media is critical to actors involved in the politics of transition from single to multiparty democracy. However, it is postulated that the role of the media in this enterprise can be greatly enhanced by the support of other democratic social forces in society. Both institutions need each other as they try to influence the direction, pattern and issues of democratic transition. The paper also discusses the problems encountered by the media in the process of promoting democratic politics. These include the legal and political environment in which the media operate, the absence of an effective media organization to protect the interests of journalists and the tendency to disregard professionalism by the media practitioners themselves.
- Date Issued:
- 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review