Richard Joseph argues against development without democracy in Africa (CDD Ghana)
7 April 2014.
Last month our partners at the
Ghana Center for Democratic Development hosted political scientist
Richard Joseph (
Northwestern University) for a talk in which he questioned the “revisionist” argument that high levels of economic growth require sacrificing some of the principles of liberal democracy, a conclusion reached by
David Booth and others on the basis of evidence from such cases as
Ethiopia and
Rwanda. Joseph believes instead that countries like
Ghana should pursue a “macro-institutional rupture” pursued through democratic means instead of autocratic ones. His analysis resonates with
ESID‘s work on the developmental implications of different kinds of
political settlement. You can read Joseph’s full lecture
on his blog, or watch the embedded video below.
