Thinking democracy with HANNAH ARENDT: CHALLENGES FOR AFRICA

The colonial legacy of Africa's balkanization has both divided and regrouped traditional empires and kingdoms. It is pre-conflictual and crisogenic, making it difficult to live well. It is at the root of tribalism, regionalism, nepotism, the illegitimacy of political power and the wars and secessions that followed independence in many African countries. H. ARENDT's intuitions, including a keen sense of democracy as a public space where people can be seen and heard by their peers, and where the plurality of individuals marked by both equality and distinction can be taken into account, can promote good living together, through the valorization of joint action and consultation, thanks to the mediation of the spoken word. Such intuitions can make possible the growth of democratic states governed by the rule of law on African soil, where the colonial trap is identity-based withdrawal.

Pagina's: 76, Paperback, Our Knowledge Publishing