Legacies of Leftism: ideology, ethnicity and democracy in Benin, Ghana and Mali

Africanists must increasingly account for disparities in the success of the continent's democratic experiments. This paper addresses why three countries—Benin, Ghana and Mali—have become surprisingly successful democracies. The argument begins with the leftist (African socialist) regimes in each case, which set the countries on a path with unintended consequences that supported democratisation over the long run. Several key steps emerge. The leftist regimes were led by minority presidents who attempted ideological incorporation in ways that attenuated the political salience of ethnic identity. Results differed from other African regimes in the ways that neo-patrimonialism interacted with ethnicity. At Africa's critical juncture (1989–92), the lack of a dominant ethno-patrimonial coalition opened political space for more programmatic contestation. Opposition became likelier to coalesce and cohere on non-ethnic bases, and combined with constitutional militaries to make these cases among the likeliest to consolidate democracy.