The Royal African Society

Frantz Fanon as a Democratic Theorist Author(s): Hussein M. Adam Source: African Affairs, Vol. 92, No. 369 (Oct., 1993), pp. 499-518 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal African Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/723236 . Accessed: 27/11/2013 14:55
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(1993), 92, 499-518 African Affairs

FRANTZ FANON AS A DEMOCRATIC THEORIST

M. ADAM HUSSEIN in Africa andreformsaroundthe issueof democratization CURRENT DEBATES will, hopefully,encouragethe developmentof indigenouspoliticaltheories favouring democratizationin the long run. This essay is intended to emphasizethat need by stimulatingdiscussionsaroundthe ideas of one of the foundingfathersof the Africanliberationmovement,FrantzFanon. Frantz Fanon was born in Martiniquein 1925 and died in 1961. After studying psychiatryin France, he worked for a brief period in colonial Algeriawherehe joinedthe Algerianfreedomfightersin their insurrection againstFrenchcolonialism. A psychiatrist,socialphilosopher,journalist, diplomat and political activist, Fanon wrote four books1 dealing with national liberation, social reconstruction and self-reconstitution. His eloquentdefenceof violenceby colonizedpeoplesin the strugglefornational emancipationattracteda great deal of attention. His defence contains several strandsincluding the psychologicalstrand implying that violence would result in a 'collectivecatharsis'that would free the oppressedfrom their inferiority complexes and degredation. The debates that ensued clouded Fanon's reflectionson a numberof serious issues: democratizing development,promotingnationalculturesor facilitatingthe emancipation of women,for example. EventhoughFanondid not shedmuch light on certaindetailedaspectsof politics electoralmechanisms,for example the corpusof his democratic politicalwritingsis both compatiblewith and supportiveof an understanding of democracyas a process in which individualscooperateas free and in the demandingtaskof developmentand self-rule. equalparticipants globalrelationships. First, the Cold War Today we confrontreordered has encled. Over thirty years ago, Fanon said, 'The Cold War must be .2 The end of the ColdWarremovesanyexcuse ended,forit leadsnowhere' forcesto compromiseprinciplebecauseof the by nationaland international fear of disturbingEast-Westloyalties. Second, popularrevolts in Africa as a and elsewherehave shownthatmilitarypowerhas becomeproblematic scope, tool of foreign policy and internalrepression. Third, the nature,
Hussein M. Adam is a Somali national who grew up in Tanzania, and is currently Associate Professor in Political Science at Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts. 1. Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, WhiteMasks(1952; Grove Press, New York, 1967); A Dying (1964; Colonialism (1959; Grove Press, New York, 1967); TowardThe AfricanRevolution of the Earth(1961; Grove Press, New York, Grove Press, New York, 1967); The Wretched 1968). of theEarthp. 105. 2. Fanon, TheWretched 499

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These and even conception of the nation state is being altered. power, dramatic The movement. havefacilitateda globaldemocratization trends toward democracyand plunging states Communist former of spectacle takingplacewithin events the striking economieshas overshadowed market a great boost to be would Africa.Obviously,a democraticSouth Africa democract. African that 'democracy' I could not find a concise definitionfor the conceptof However, here. adequatelycover the issues and trends discussed would For a brief descriptionsand elaborationsshould clarify the subject. the of 'Government the people, definitionI preferthe commonsensical working of democratic the peopleandby the people',whichis still the foundation for provide democracy of beliefs. However, because particularconceptions recent the cite to vital is frame of referencefor all that is to follow, it the in Democracy on study four-volume providedin the authoritative definition define to necessary Countries. The editorscite threeconditions Developing governance: democratic among individualsand organized meaningfuland extensivecompetition of governgroups(especiallypoliticalparties)for all effectivepositions a highly force; of ment power,at regularintervalsand excludingthe use and leaders of inclusive level of politicalparticipationin the selection major no that policies, at least throughregularand fair elections, such liberties(adult)socialgroupis excluded;anda level of civilandpolitical and join form to freedomof expression,freedomof the press, freedom competition organizations sufficientto ensurethe integrityof political andparticipation.3 manyof the demandsmadeby definitioncaptures This liberaldemocratic oppositiongroups,parties,andmovements. It contains African thecurrent Fanon in his notions that are employed directly or indirectlyby Frantz autocracies, slideinto single-party critiqueof Africa'sunmitigated trenchant offerWhile and militarydictatorships. authoritarianisms, personal-rule African to in opposition ing defensivereasonson behalfof liberaldemocracy decentralradical include to definition the beyond rule,Fanongoes dictatorial as andcentralstateorgans, wellas a of local,regional ization,democratization with issuesof equityand gender. On politicalparticipation, preoccupation to ongoingand or relevant thosethataremorecontinuous Fanonemphasizes citizens. of activitiesin the everydaylives important immediately Fanonandself-determination movementsin Africaand FrantzFanonandthe otherleadersof liberation by thathasbeensuccinctlyanalyzed Asiasharea certainvisionof democracy
3.

Countries. Volume in Developing L. Diamond, J. J. Linz and S. M. Lipset, Democracy xvi. p. 1988), Boulder, Reinner, Two:Africa(Lynne

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on to B. Macpherson. Fanon, however, does not stop here, he goes C. democracy. this notion by emphasizinga vibrantparticipatory transcend asks: Macpherson our What does this vision of democracyamount to?... It is neither and nor the democracyformulatedby Marx Westernliberal-democracy of these, yet in a sense it is older than either than newer Lenin. It is as ruleby andfor the oppressedpeople.4 both. . . the notionof democracy puts emphagoes on to arguethatthis versionof democracy Macpherson doctrine of this democratic on ends, not means. The classicformulator sis Rousseau,who argued: was the Dignity, freedom,andhumanityareto be achievedby re-establishing This them. takenfrom equalitythat had been forciblyor fraudulently of the will of an assertion moral, and political once at revolution a requires political an undifferentiatedPeople as the only legitimate source of power.5 A few critics have analyzed Fanon's ideas as regards the Rousseau democracy. tradition.6 ObviouslyFanonsharesthis aspectof the notionof the demofor stands In normalanti-colonialsituations,nationalliberation colonial from rightof the colonizednationas a wholeto independence cratic right of the of rule and national self-determination. He is an advocate the joined peoplesto self-determination. He willinglyandenthusiastically sacrificed he and freedomstruggleagainstexternalFrenchcontrol, Algerian the freedomof Algeria.7 Nevertheless,he was quick to differfor his life entiate between authentic self-determinationand false decc)lonization. calls he satirically Formalpoliticalindependence nothing . . . a fancy-dressparadeandthe blareof the trumpets. There's flag-waving: a top, a few reformsat the savea minimumof readaptation, mass,still livingin the Middle undivided an bottom the at there down and Ages, endlesslymarkingtime.8 or state Fanon transcends the issue of collective self-determination He freedom. individual freedomand dialecticallylinks it to the notion of
University Press, Oxford, 1966), (Oxford of De?nocracy 4. C. B. Macpherson, TheReal World pp. 23-24. p. 29. of Democracy, 5. MacPherson, Real World New YorkReviewof Books,31 6. See, for example, Francois Bondy, 'The Black Rousseau', March 1966. see David Caute, Fanon(Fontana, 7. For an excellent political/biographical analysis of Fanon London, 1970). of theEarth,p. 147. 8. Fanon, TheWretched

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on a theory of democratizeddevelopmentthrough an emphasis outlines broadened Fanon's to and participation. Beforeturning decentralization as a bitter critic I will examinehis contributions democracy, of conception the most became what trends. In 1961, he predicted anti-democratic of which dictatorship, patternwhereina statemovedto a single-party common originality and uniqueness in turn replacedby a militaryregime. His was by the factthatmostAfricanstatesachieved areunderlined this endeavour in The in 1960 only one year before he wrote his main book, independence experience Latin-American of the Earth. An analysis of the Wretched him helped gain suchpropheticinsights. trends of antidemocratic criticisms Fanon's to an authentic Like Marx, Fanon felt that 'liberaldemocracy'is linked market: bourgeoisieandflourishingnational national the end of the The national middle class which takes over power at no practically has It class. middle colonialregimeis anunder-developed nor 1nventlon, ln nor Wuctson, proc . ln economlcpower.. . lt 1S not engagec of the interbuilding,nor labor;it is completelycanalizedinto activities class erhich middle a system, mediary type... Under the colonial capitalis an impossiblephenomenon.9 accumulates
. . . . . . . .

national Several consequences flow from this lack of an authentic opt therefore and politics bourgeoisie. The inabilityto sustainmulti-party elites ruling the of Some is one consequence. forone-partydictatorships and argue for the single-partyas the concepts Rousseau-type to resort mass). The dictatorshipof an undifferentiatedpeople (a majoritarian Will. The General an undifferentiated singlepartyis seen as representing or neo-bourgeoisie Africanpseudo-bourgeoisie that economic . . . does not yet have the quiet conscienceand the calm It does not give. can alone machine powerand the controlof the state thatrouses one rather but citizen, the ordinary createa statethatreassures
. .

nlS anXlety.

inspireconfiThe state,which by its strengthand discretionought to seeks to contrary the on sleep, to dence and disarmand lull everybody fashion. It makesa display,it jostlespeople imposeitself in spectacular is in continual and bullies them thus intimatingto the citizen that he of the dictatorship the of form modern the is danger. The single party and cynical.l? bourgeoisie,unmasked,unpainted,unscrupulous,

9. Fanon, The Wretchedof the Earth, pp. 149-150. 10. Fanon, The Wretchedof the Earth, pp. 164-165.

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At the level of theoreticalargumentandpoliticalpractice,Fanondemonstratesthat the one-partydictatorshipis neither necessarynor inevitable. Incidentally, Martin Kilson makes a similar observationin his study of politics in SierraLeone: 'The party, having usurpedthe field of political action, becomes the guarantoragainst the precipitous and unwarranted populistdemands; it constitutesin effect,a veritabledictatorship of the black bourgeoisie'. 11 Fanondifferswithanumberof socialscientistssuchas SamuelHuntington and others, who have argued that developingnations need to emphasize stabilityand developmentand sacrifice democratic participation, at leastfor the short run. He also arguesthat the neo-bourgeoiselite is incapableof providingstability,let alone facilitatingsocio-economicdevelopment. In most cases, Africans will pay the price, in terms of rights and liberties, withoutgainingany benefitsin return. Fanon's position is also radicallydifferentfrom those in the modernization school (David Apter, for example),who distortedthe Weberianconcept of charismato justify the 'cult of the leader' in African one-party dictatorships. Historically,such a 'populist'leaderwill cometo be seen as 'the fierce defender of these interests.. . of the national bourgeoisieand the ex-colonial companies. This honesty, which is his soul's true bent, crumblesawaylittle by little.'12 Fanon'sdescriptionsrecallthe late KwameNkrumah,who was President of Ghana while Fanon served as Algerian Provisional Government ambassador in Accra. He calls for a democratic conceptof leadership: the need to empowercitizensandto createa pluralityof leadersin all spheresof political, economic, social, and culturallife. He sums up his critique of anti-democratic trendsin Africanpolitics,thus: That famousdictatorship, whosesupporters believethatit is calledforby the historical processandconsiderit anindispensable preludeto the dawn of independence,in fact symbolizesthe decisionof the bourgeoiscasteto governthe underdeveloped countryfirstwith the help of the people, but soon againstthem. The progressivetransformation of the partyinto an informationservice is the indication that the governmentholds itself more and more on the defensive. The incoherentmass of the people is seen as a blind force that must be continuallyheld in check either by mystification or by police force. The partyactsas a barometer andas an informationservice. The militant is turned into an informer. He is entrustedwith punitive expeditionsagainstthe villages. The embryo opposition parties are liquidated by beatings and stonings. The
11. Martin Kilson, Political Changein a WestAfrican State (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1969), p. l 91. 12. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 166.

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oppositioncandidatessee their houses set on fire. The police increase their provocations. In these conditions,you may be sure, the party is unchallengedand 99 99?/O of the votes are cast for the government candidate. 13 In 1961 Fanonpredictedthat most of the civilianneo-bourgeoisregimes will sooneror laterbe overthrownby militarydictators. Within the neocolonialcontextthe army,trainedand equippedby foreigntechniciansand finances,becomesnot only the instrumentused by the neo-bourgeoisieto controlthe people, but the instrumentused by the metropoleto enforceits policy of indirect government:'We may thus conclude that the ranks of decked-outprofiteers.. . will sooneror laterbe men of strawin the handsof the army,cleverlyhandledby foreignexperts'. 14 Fanon criticizes the standing army as a destructive inheritancefrom colonialrule. Even in caseswhereguerrillaliberation armieshavecometo power,Fanonadvocatesa small,mobile, limitedstandingarmysurrounded by a peoples' militia. He sees armed citizens as the best guarantorsof democraticrights and envisions militia training and participationas an informalschool for civic and patrioticconsciousness,literacyeducation,as well as technicalandorganizational know-how. Fanonjoinsthoseclassical theoristsof democracywho stronglyemphasizedthe educativeeffect produced in the citizenryby participation. This is a key aspectof his participatoryapproach, intendedto limitthe powerof narrowprofessional 'castes'. No discussionof democratization in Africacan be completeunless it raises the issue of the role, the size, and the objectivesof Africa'sstandingarmies andthe international armsrace. The decliningColdWarandthe destruction of sizable standing armies in Uganda, Liberia, Somalia as well as Ethiopia,give urgencyand added significanceto this crucialissue. Even powerful countrieslike the US are obliged to rely on volunteerNational Guardsto meet emergency needs. Overthirty-oneyearssince Fanon'sdeath,the militaryorganization continues to pose the greatest threat to democracyin Africa. His citizen militias and related ideas were intended to prevent and/or facilitate the process of military withdrawalfrom power. Although there are cases such as Nigeria, Ghana,and the Sudan where the militaryhas gone back to the barracks,they continue to pose serious problems for democratic consolidation because of their propensity to reintervene under any pretext. Fanon's criticismsof single-partydictatorships,personalrule, military rule, and standing armies constitute an important aspect of his prodemocracy approach. In this section,Fanonprovidesnegativereasonsfor
13. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 182. 14. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 174.

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democracy. He seems to be saying that if you are not convinced of the desirability for democracy, consider the alternatives. He changes the focus from obvious failures and political disastersto probablesuccess to demonstrate that democracyhas greaterrelevanceto Africa'sfuture. His existentialbackgroundallowedhim to rejecthistoricaland other forms of determinism. Even though the lackof an authenticbourgeoisiemadethe attainmentof democracyextremelydifficult,it has not made it impossible. Social and economic preconditions for democracy are helpful but not absolutelynecessary. Duringthis period,the majority of Westernscholars and observersbent over backwards to rationalize for Africandictatorsand dictatorships . JohnWiseman recalls: 'To avoidthecharge of ethnocentrism many scholarsadopteda bogus Afrocentrism. . . Althoughthe samepeople wouldhave been justifiably horrifiedif theirown governments had decided to banall opposition,they were quite willingto acceptit in Africa.'15 A numberof Africanfictionwritershave depictedFanon-typecriticisms of the Africanneo-bourgeoisiein their literaryworks. At least three such writers have acknowledgedbeing directly influenced by Frantz Fanon: Ngug1WaThiong'o,l6Ayi Kwei Armahand SembeneOusmane. Ngugl's satirical novel, writtenin prisonin his nativelanguageGikuyu,Devil On the Cross depictsa scenein whichthe budding'African capitalists' (read'thieves and robbers')give testimony before their foreign Western and Japanese mastersin orderto win the crownof moderntheft and robbery. One such participant, MwireriWa Mukiraai,imploreshis fellow thieves to breakthe cycle of Western compradordomination in order to become a proper nationalbourgeoisie:'Nationalrobbers,nationalthieves, I have shownyou the way'. Mwireri'stestimonycausesa riot in the den of the thieves and robbers. The Masterof Ceremoniesprofuselyand humbly apologizesto the foreign capitalistspresent. Ngug1implies here that the Kenyanneobourgeoisieprefers its comprador,intermediarystatus. To rub in this bitter irony, Ngug1 has Mwireri thrown out of the ceremoniesand later killed for his hereticalthoughts. Sembene'snovel and film, Xala, depicts Senegal'smercantileclass. E1HadjiBeye is shownto be a capitalistof the lntermediary export-importtype. In this case, however, Sembeneseems to see a sparkof hope for this neo-bourgeoisieas the word Xala literally means 'temporary impotence'? Africa's Nobel laureate writer Wole
15. John A. Wiseman,Democracy in Black Africa: Survivaland renewal (ParagonHouse Publishers, New York,1990),p. 5. 16. Both Ngug1Wa Thiong'o and OusmaneSembenementionedthis duringour 1991discussions. During a 1990 public lecture at Holy Cross College, Ngugl pointed to Fanon's influenceson Ayi Kwei Armah. See Ngug1Wa Thiong'o, Devil on the Cross(Heinemann, London, 1987),p. 171;and SembeneOusmane,Xala (Lawrence Hill Books,Chicago,1976); see, forexample,Ayi KweiArmah,TheBeautiful OnesAreNot YetBorn(Heineman, London, 1988);see alsoNeil Lazarus, Resistance in Postcolonial AfricanFiction,(YaleUniversityPress, New Haven, 1990). Lazarusarguesthatnot only Ngug1,SembeneandArmahbut alsoWole Soyinkaand ChinuaAchebeamongothers,tendedto view the post-colonialsituationin the lightof the theoriesof the Third Worldanalystandrevolutionary FrantzFanon.

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Soyinka has also expended a great deal of literary and political energy combatingAfricandictatorships. Fanon's participatory democracy So far we have analyzedFanon'snegativecontribution: his criticismsof single-party dictatorships, cult of leaders, personal rule, and military authoritarianism. He considersfreedomas man's defining characteristic and supremegoal. In a book he publishedas a young man and under the influenceof Jean-PaulSartre'sexistentialist philosophy,Black Skin, White Masks,Fanonwrote:'No attemptmust be madeto encase man, for it is his destiny to be free'.17 The Algerian revolution allows Fanon to deepen his earlier notions of existentialistfreedom to include social praxis and socialfreedom: organization, consciousness of freedom,self-expression, and respectfor the freedomof others. In theorizingabout democracyfrom a participatory perspective,he wishes to emphasizethat democracytranscendsthe rightto vote in a politicalsystem. It must include a whole set of rightsand responsibilitiesfor citizens if a decolonizationis to be judged authenticand the new governmentis to be open, accountable, and participatory. His notion of developmentbased on free choices and popular participation is best capturedby the followingquotation: If the building of a bridge does not enrich the awareness of those who workon it, then that bridgeouglit not to be built and the citizenscan go swimmingacrossthe riveror going by boat. The bridgeshould not be 'parachuted down' from above; it should not be imposed by a deusex machina upon the social scene;on the contrary,it should come from the musclesandthe brainsof the citizens.18 Developmentis too important to be left to a few technicians or even to an authoritarian bourgeoisieof some sort. Development must involve the democratic participation of the people. Fanonunderstands perfectlywell that democraticconsultativemechanismstake time and might slow down developmental activitiesconsiderably. In an under-developedcountry, experienceproves that the thing is not that three hundred people form a plan and important decide upon carryingit out, but that the whole peopleplan and decideeven if it takes themtwice or threetimes as long.19 Fanon'sprocessorientation towarddemocratic development is in contrast to the product-oriented top-downapproach advocated by KwameNkrumah
17.Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks, p. 230. 18.Fanon, The Wretchedof the Earth, pp. 200-201. 19.Fanon, The Wretchedof the Earth, p. 193.

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anda numberof Africa'sleaders. The statements citedabovecouldbe read as a refutationof Nkrumah's observation: 'What other countries have takenthree hundredyears or more to achieve,a once-dependentterritory must try to accomplishin a generationif it is to survive. Unless it is, as it were, "jet-propelled", it will lagbehindandthus riskeverything forwhichit fought.'20 Fanon'svision is one of voluntaryself-propulsion,not coerced 'jet propulsion'. Transcendingexistentialfreedom, Fanon seeks to establishsocial freedom, wherebyman is liberatedby liberatingsociety, thus linkingfreedom, equality, and development. His democraticnotions are strengthenedby his stress on the necessity of extreme decentralization. He felt that this would not only takepressureoff capital-citypolitics, but would also facilitate meaningful participationwhile contributing toward transparency, accountability, andpredictability.21 The alienationof languageis an aspect of colonial oppression. Fanon advocates the need to emancipateand develop national languages and cultures as an aspect of democratization. Former Portuguese colonies, Angola,for example,went to greatlengthsto promoteparticipation, but the ulilization of Portuguese instead of national languages hindered their efforts. Kenyan novelist Ngugl Wa Thiong'o echoes Fanon when he remarks: I would like to see Kenya peoples' mother-tongues(our nationallanguages!)carry a literaturereflectingnot only the rhythms of a child's spokenexpression,but alsohis strugglewith natureandhis socialnature. With that harmony,betweenhimself, his languageand his environment as his startingpoint, he can learn other languagesand even enjoy the positive humanistic, democratic,and revolutionaryelements in other peoples) literaturesand cultures and without any complexesabout his own language,his own self, his environment.22 It is importantto broaden the debates concerningdemocratization in Africafroma simplisticfixationwith the numberof politicalparties,dominating the so-called 'national conferences', to include language/cultural policies,literacyprojects,anddecentralization measures thatdo justiceto the concrete democratic pluralism of African societies. Democratic participation
20. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana: The autobiography of KwameNkrumah(Thomas, Nelson, London, 1957), p. x. 21. Chinua Achebe captures this issue of decentralization to facilitate local accountability best when, in his novel A Manof thePeople (Anchor Books, New York, 1967) he states: 'My father's words struck me because they were the very same words the villagers of Anata had spoken of Josiah, the abominable trader. Only in their case the words had meaning. The owner was the village, and the village had a mind; it could say no to sacrilege. But in the affairs of the nation, there was no owner, the laws of the village became powerless', p 149. 22. Ngugl Wa Thiong'o, Decolonizing theMind(James Currey, London, 1986), pp. 28-29.

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utilization of African wouldbe an empty, futile exercise without the spoken by the majority of the people. languages African leaders and Fanon also recognized, much earlier than many other withthat African democratic participation would be meaningless experts, Colonialasm Dying A outthe active participation of African women. and to the possiwomen of alienation the to attention considerable devoted he wrote: struggle;23 of liberating women through the revolutionary bilities of the clauses the not in 'Womenwill have exactly the same place as men, in the and school, at constitution,but in the life of everyday: in the factory, to supporters, male parliament.'24 It is up to women themselves, and their to achieve and sustain this process. struggle of solid and active He conceived of the parliament as the apex of a pyramid institutions These vertical,representative and participatory institutions. particiHorizontal wereat the local village, district) and regional levels. organizations, women's institutions were the trade unions, youth and patory of voluntary organpeasant cooperative associations, and a multiplicity free-choice izations. This was in keeping with Fanon's voluntarist, conception of democracy. the abstract, Fanon Even though he did not advocate multiple parties in defended the need to have opposition parties, thus: and stonings. The embryo opposition parties are liquidated by beatings The police fire. on set The oppc)sition candidates see their houses morewhich parties, increase their provocations. . All the opposition the for work to tend over are usually progressive and would therefore who and matters public of greater influence of the masses in the conduct lre brought to desire that the proud, money-making bourgeoisie should first to condemned heel, have been by dint of baton charges and prisons silence and then to a clandestine existence.25 that in his ideal The late Emmanuel Hansen argued, 'Fanon assumes is not a correct this society there will be a single-party system.26 I believe in Fanon's that out pointed reading of Fanon. Irene Grendzier correctly was a system multi-party a or view swhether there ought to be a single-party wrote: Fanon party, ruling the secondary question'.27 In connection with exchange of ideas The living party) which ought to make possible the free of the masses of needs real the to which have been elaborated according
e.g. ch. 3. 23. Fanon) A DyingColonialism, of theEarth,p. 202. 24. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 182. 25. Fanon, TheWretched (Ohio State University politicalthought 26. Emmanuel Hansen, Frantz Fanon: Social and 184. p. Press, Columbus, Ohio, 1977), New York, 1973), p. 221. 27. Irene Gendzier, FrantzFanon(Pantheon Books,

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the people, has been transformedinto a trade union of individual

interests.28

To enhanceaccountability Fanonadvocated separating the partyfromthe government: The party is not a tool in the hands of the government. Quite on the contrary, the partyis a tool in the handsofthe people;it is theywho decide on the policy that the governmentcarriesout. The party is not, and ought neverto be, the only politicalbureauwhereall the membersof the government and the chief dignitariesof the regime may freely meet
together.29

In contradiction to his elaboratecriticismsof the single-partyregime,is Fanonadvocatinga single party-system? I believeAdele Jinaduis correct when he points out that Fanon is really'referring to what any partyideally shouldbe. Whatmattersmost to him is the developmentof the socialand political consciousnessof the Africanmasses. Whateverthe form of the partyorganization, its taskmustbe to facilitatethe progressive attainment of this collectiveemancipation.'30As explainedabove,Fanonis awareof the natureof Africande factoone-partystates. Whathe is definitelyagainstis parties that cling to power by declaringother parties illegal, by rigging elections, by cynical political opportunismand/or the use of intimidation andforce. A genuinelyrevolutionary partyshouldseekto leadby exercising leadershipas a resultof prestigeor hegemony,ratherthannakedpower. Its revolutionarycatalysts should help educate the people and provide organizational directionfor a partythatseeksto influenceby settingitselfup as a positiverolemodel. It shouldoperate,likethe stateorgans,on a highly decentralized modeland its leadersand cadresshouldlive andworkin rural areasamongthe majorityof the people. Consociational democracy: W. ArthurLewis Frantz Fanon was among the first to recognizeclass formationand the importance of class analysisin understanding Africanpolitics. Nevertheless, he did not underestimate the importance of ascriptive attributessuchas race, language,religion, and ethnicity. His sensitivity to mattersof culturalfragmentation is shownby numerousremarks and observations in his
. .

wrltlngs.

Fanonremains a radical socialdemocrat whohopesthatAfrica's revolutionaryintellectuals will be ableto respect'traditional structures' andhelp them 28. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 170. 29. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 185. 30. Adele Jinadu, Fanon(KPI, London, 1986), p.172.

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evolve by giving them a 'nationalist' and 'progressive character'. Writing about four yearsafter Fanon, anotherWest Indianintellectual,the Nobel prizewinningeconomistW. ArthurLewis, deriveshis democratic theories fromthe existenceof culturalfragmentation: Pluralityis the principalproblemof most of the new statescreatedin the twentiethcentury. Most of them includepeople who differfrom each otherin language or tribeor religionor race;someof thesegroupslive side by side in a long traditionof mutualhostility,restrained in the past only by a neutralimperialpower. Frenchwritersuse the word 'cleavage'to describea situationwherepeople aremutuallyantipathetic, not because they disagree on matters of principle, like liberals and socialists, or because they have differentinterests, like capitalistsand workers,but simply becausethey are historicalenemies. Cleavagecannot be overcomemerelyby argument andeconomicconcessions,as in the traditional British manner,becauseit is not based on disputes about principlesor interests. Hence, it is the most difficultof all politicalproblems.31 Lewis criticizedthe slavish imitationof (mostly Anglo-Saxon)majoritarian democracies and recommended electoral systems and coalition governmentsbased on proportionalrepresentation. Lewis rejected the single-partymodel: 'the solution is not the single party but coalition and federation'.32 Africangovernmentswill achievegreaterlegitimacyif parliamentaryelections, the appointmentof public officials,and the distribution of public funds amongthe subculturesis guidedby the principleof proportionality. Besides a federalsystem and grandcoalitions,cabinets, advisory commissions, and all related bodies must reflect proportional powersharing. The theoryArthurLewis sketchedfor Africanpolitics in 1965 has been elaborated considerably and termed consociational decision making democracyby social scientistssuch as Lijphartand Lehmbruch.33 They argue that culturally fragmentedcountries could hope to attain democratic stability if they utilized consociational,rather than competitive (winner-take-all), majoritarian decision-making. This line of theorizing,whichparallels Lewis' 1965propositions, needsto be thoroughlyexaminedand analyzedby all those interestedin evolving
31. W. Arthur Lewis, Politics in West Africa (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1965), p. 66. 32. Lewis, Politics in West Africa, p. 66. 33. See Jurg Steiner, European Democracies, 2nd ed., (Longman, New York, 1991), p. 235. Based on smaller western and central European experiences, consociational democracy implies the following facilitating prerequisites: the subcultures have clear boundaries, pre-eminent leaders, none enjoys a hegemonic position and there is overarching loyalty across all subcultures. The subcultures view external pressures in the same light; there is a tradition of accommodation and compromise while the overall load of unresolved problems on the country is not very great.

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creativedemocratictheoriesfor the currentAfricanexperiments. Fanon recognizedthe politicalimportance of ascriptivegroupingseven thoughhe stressedsocial class factors. Lewis bases his theory on the recognitionof both individualand group rights and wants to use such historicallygiven groupings to erect a pluralist power-sharingconception of democracy. Africanpracticesincemightallowablendingofthe twotheoriesintoaflexible vision of pluralisticdemocracythat is socially meaningful. The current needis to combineoptimismwithrealism whilelearning fromthepositiveand negativeaspectsof the democratic experiencein post-independence Africa. Theinternational dimension In their searchfor relativeautonomy in an increasinglyinterdependent world, Fanon warnedAfricanand Third World leadersagainstopting for autarchy:'Arsautarkicregime is set up and each state, with the miserable resourcesit has in hand, tries to find an answerto the nation'sgreathunger andpoverty.'34 This attemptto createautarchy withinexcessiveproblems of scarcity(perhapsbest approached by Albaniauntil recently)would only pour fuel to the fires of Third World developmentaldictatorshipsthat Fanon rejected. At one point he quipped that to exhort the povertystrickenmassesto tighten their belts even furtherignoresthe fact that they do not even havebelts to tightenin the firstplace! Which is the way out of such dilemmas,autonomyor autarchy? 'What countstoday,the questionwhichis loomingon the horizon,is the need for a redistributionof wealth. Humanity must reply to this question, or be shakento piecesby it.'35 He callsfor a formof humanisticandcreative(not the imitative top-down Stalinisticversion) socialism that is to be implemented through democraticconsultations,persuasion,and education-and not throughforceand coercion. The choiceof a socialistregime,a regimewhich is completelyorientated towardthe people as a whole and basedon the principlethat man is the most preciousof all possessions,will allowus to go forward morequickly and more harmoniously,and thus make impossible that caricatureof societywhereall economicandpoliticalpoweris held in the handsof a few who regardthe nationas a whole with scornand contempt.36 For the most part,Fanon'sreflectionson democratizing developmentdo not presupposedetailedgovernmentpolicies. At this point, however,he manifestsa normativebias towardequalizingresourcesin society. With regard to participatory democracy, thiswillpermitthelesswell-offtoincrease
34. 35. 36. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 98. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 98. Fanon, TheWretched of theEarth,p. 99.

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their relative weight in popular participation. Meaningful democracy requiresthe equalizationof resourcesthat facilitate the empowermentof the majority. This issue relatesnot so muchto the formof 'democracy' but ratherto its substantivecontent. Fanoncallson Africancountriesto seek economies of scaleby relyingon Pan-African andThird Worldformsof solidarity. The New International Economic Order (NIEO) proposalsput forwardby Algeria at the 1974 SpecialSessionof the UN GeneralAssemblywould be in line with Fanon's perspective: 'Wearestrongin ourown right,andin the justice of ourpointof view. . . The Cold Warmust be ended,for it leads nowhere.'37 Turningto thepeoplesof Westerncountries,Fanonurges themto transform foreignaid intogenuineformsof international solidarityandpartnerships: What[theThirdWorld]expectsfromthosewho for centurieshavekeptit in slaveryis that they will help it rehabilitate mankind,and make man victoriouseverywhere, once andfor all. But it is clearthatwe arenot so naiveas to thinkthatthis will come aboutwith the and good will of the Europeangovernments. This huge cooperation task which consists of reintroducing mankind intothe world,the wholemankind, will be carried out with the indispensable help of the European peoples,who themselves must realize that in the past they have often joined the ranks of our commonmasterswherecolonialquestionswere concerned.38 Fanon's democraticaspirationshave a global, internationaldimension that could be best summedup by readapting the famoussloganof the international voluntary development movement: 'Thinkglobally,actlocally'as well as its reverse,'Think locally,act globally'.
Impact and links

To assessFanon'simpactfully wouldrequire considerable moreresearch and a much longer essay. To a large extent he has had an amorphous, informal impact that is hard to measure. The links between Fanon and those who cameafterhim ariseout of similarity of roles(forexampleAmilcar Cabral) and partly out of conscious ideological emulation (as frankly admitted by writerNgugl Wa Thiong'o). In a number of cases both are present and it is not easyto separatecoincidencefrom conscious emulation. Asnotedabove,he hashadadirectimpacton radical African writers suchas Ngugl WaThiong'o,Ayi KweiArmah andSembeneOusmane. My general impression is that his influencegoes beyond these to include other Third World writers but I have not investigated enough to cite specific examples. In the social sciences, Africanstudies in particular, his major impact consistedin unleashing thegreatdebatesaroundclassversusethnicity 37. Fanon, The Wretchedof the Earth, p. 105. 38. Fanon, The
Wretchedof the Earth, p. 106.

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as researchmethods and approaches. Fanon felt that the bureaucratic Africanbourgeoisiefaced domesticand externalconstraints that prevented it from developinginto a productivenationalbourgeoisie. He wanted it controlled and substituted by institutions facilitatingmass participatory democracy. Partly by coincidenceand partly by indirect influencethrough French agronomist ReneDumont,39 JuliusNyereregraspedthe argument andtried to enactpolicies that would 'freeze'Tanzanianclassformation. The 1967 LeadershipCode and similarmeasureswere intendedto prevent bureaucraticbourgeoisexpansioninto the privatesectors,therebylimitingconflicts of interest. Tanzaniaattainedmodest successin the begilnning but on the whole the experimentseems to have failed. RobertBates, in Marketsand Statesin Tropical Africa,40 echoesFanon(by coincidence)in his criticismof urban elite-dominationand resultingcorruption. He is joined by others including the World Bank in a perspectivethat differs from Fanon's in believing that by rolling back state sector expansion, and by pursuing privatization andprivatesectorpolicies,anAfricancapitalism anda national bourgeoisiewill be ableto emerge. The historicaljuryis not yet out on the questionof a productiveAfricanbourgeoisie. Throughactivistwriterssuch as PauloFreire,Fanonhas had an indirect influenceon the liberationtheologymovement. His participatory visionof democracy is, to a varyingextent,manifestedin the statements andactivities of a number of the indigenous and internationalvoluntarydevelopment organizations. If there are any sectors of society where one could find echoes of Fanon's ideas they would be the universities,naturally,and the voluntarydevelopmentsector. Drawingfrom diverseintellectualsources includingFrantzFanonand Paulo Freire,an alternative NGO positionhas emergedthat definesdevelopmentin termsof empowerment or trainingfor transformation. Empowermentis not a simple projector projects;it is a
process.4l

Recently,certainAfricanradical democrats havefollowedFanonin stressing the primacyof 'development' and economicperformance in theiradvocacy of democratization. Anyang' Nyong'o argues that non-democratic Africanstatesareunableto tax the people,thus lackof democracy is a major obstacle to African development:'At the center of the failure of African statesto chartviablepathsfor development(or industrialization) is the issue of lack of accountability,hence of democracy as well'.42 In rejecting
39. See Rene Dumont, FalseStart in Africa(Sphere Books, London, 1966). 40. Robert H. Bates, Marketsand Statesin Tropical Africa(University of California Press, Berkeley, 1981). 41. Charles Elliot, 'Some Aspects of Relations Between the North and the South in the NGO Sector', in WorldDevelopment, 15 (1987), pp. 57-77. See also John Clark Democratizing Development Theroleof voluntary organizations (Earthscan Publications, London, 1991). 42. Anyang' Nyong'o cited in Bjorn Beckman, 'Whose Democracy? Bourgeois or Popular Democracy', Review of AfricanPoliticalEconomy 45/46, (1989), p. 89.

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Huntington and others, he parallels Fanon in arguing that it is the lack of democracy that breeds instability and coups d'etat. Richard Jeffries recent article on Jerry Rawling's Ghana allows us to reflect on linkages between Fanon and later experimentation. Several of Rawlings' close advisors have been influenced by Fanon, and Rawlings is said to have read and to have been impressed by Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed43 which in turn was much influenced by Frantz Fanon. There is an indirect link, therefore, between Rawlings' and Fanon's ideas. There is also a good deal of coincidence. A striking link between Fanon and Rawlings concerns the importance both attach to decentralization. Jeffries sums up Rawlings decentralization measures thus: The aim of the Local Government reforms, then, was to decentralize the operation of the various government ministries to the district level so as to increase the range of governmental activities over which elected District Assemblies enjoyed jurisdiction. . . Elected assembly members were to be required to report back regularly to their ward constituents. In this way, it was hoped both to enhance the political accountability of government activities. . . With a larger proportion of the finance for development projects within each district having to be raised from local taxes, it was also hoped that this system would serve to educate the electorate. . . The electorate were to learn, as it were, that there are no free lunches.44 Ali Mazrui's TV series, TheAfricans, has an interesting portrayal of Jerry Rawlings. In 'Part 6: Africa In Search of Stability', he shows Rawlings teaching a group of male and female Ghanaians how to use a glln. He says he wishes to see every citizen learning to use a gun to protect them from the domination of those who have a monopoly of guns. Like Fanon, Rawlings is advocating a popular militia and a diminished role for the professional army. He has unleashed a critical debate but it does not seem that he has had much success in implementing this policy. Africa has to carry out such experiments even though they are fraught with dangers; on the one hand they could trigger a militarist coup, on the other hand they could lead to armed anarchy as in Liberia and Somalia. According to JeSries) Rawlings 'has remained, quite genuinely, a believer in what he terms "participatory democracy" as the eventual goal of his revolution'.45 However, a number of his key associates tended to lean towards Jacobinism. As discussed by C. B. Macpherson above, they stress 'democracy in unity' in order to achieve national development goals.
43. Paulo Freire, Pedagody of the Oppressed(Herder and Herder, New York, 1971). 44. Richard Jeffries, 'Dictator or Democrat?: Rawlings and the Process of Democratization in Ghana', paper prepared for the African Studies Association of the U.K. Biennial Conference, University of Stirling, September 1992, p. lO. 45. Jeffries 'Dictator or Democrat', p. 4.

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Rawlingsleanedtowardsa one partystate but afterhesitation,he followed populardemandsand conductedmultipartyelections. His partywon the elections though there are opposition charges of unfairness and fraud. He has been given a mandate to continue his reforms in favour of democracy'. popularmilitiasand 'participatory decentralization, Gonclusion in Fanon cannotbe explainedby Certainambiguitiesand contradictions grounded in his poeticstyle. He offersa visionof democracy shortcomings on a historicalprocess;however,he overlookssome of the detailsnecessary process,for example:a democratic to guaranteeand sustaina participatory democraticconstitution,bill of rights, the rule of law, multipleparties,fair a freepress)and judiciary, electionsheld at regularintervals,anindependent voluntaryassociations. Fanon does referto some of these elementsbut in ratherthan in his connectionwith his critiqueof Africanauthoritarianism society. depictionof a desirabledemocratic It could be suggested that he wanted to avoid offering a rigid blueprint. He wanted the participatingmasses to fill in their own details. This explanationreceives paradoxicalsupport in the younger Fanon of to preparethe Black Skin) WhiteMasks:'In no fashionshould I undertake to my time.'46 However) worldthatwill come later. I belongirreducibly the younger existentialistFanon has evolved into the maturehistorically the African of the Earth and Tozvard engaged author of The Wretched Revolution. Fanon riskedhis life and died in the struggleto bringabouta andthe Africancontinentin betterfuturefor colonizedAlgeriain particular general. If we still admit he continued to retain an aspect of his earlier position,then he is subjectto a criticismsimilarto thatlevelled existentialist at Marx and Rousseau,for example:by providingsimply an outline of his vision he has facilitatedthe distortionof his ideas by others. Fascistsand canbe manipucommunists(Stalinists)haveshownthatmassparticipation he is advocatlated. Obviously,Fanon is againsttop-downparticipation; ing bottom-up grass-rootsdemocraticparticipation. Unfortunately,he does not discuss the mechanismsthat would ensure accountabilityof the as well to the grassroots;thatwould rotateleadersandguarantee leadership processes. The specifictype of electoralsystem as sustainsuch democratic adoptedmay affectthe prospectsfor the stabilityof any regime. Fanon uses a modified social-classapproachto understandingAfrican politics. As mentioned, the opening salvoes in the great Africanist debatc- classversusethnicity canbe tracedbackto FrantzFanon. This of the ethnic has led certain critics to accuse him of an incomprehension cleavages of primordial the role factorsin Africanpolitics. He understood
46. Fanon,BlackSkin, WhiteMasks,p. 13.

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in Africansocieties:ethnic groups (tribes, clans), and religiouscommunities. The following quotationshows Fanon criticizingAfrica'seducated elite for ignoringimportant ethnic,traditional andhistoricalfactors: The traditionalchiefs are ignored, sometimes even persecuted. The makersof the futurenation'shistorytrample unconcernedly over small local disputes,that is to say, the only existing nationalevents, whereas, they ought to makeof villagehistory the history of traditional conflicts betweenclans and tribes-a harmonious whole, at one with the decisive action to which they call on the people to contribute. The old men, surroundedby respect in all traditionalsocieties, and usually invested with unquestionable moralauthority,arepubliclyheld up to ridicule.47 Similar insights on ethnicity and traditionsare to be found in various parts of TheWretched of theEarthandA DyingColonialism. In promoting radical decentralization, Fanon is partiallyprovidinga method to handle primordial cleavages. Besidesdecentralization, he does not indicateother meansto minimize ethnic conflicts and channel energies toward socially meaningful democratic participation. Had he done so, he wouldhavebeen obligedto incorporatesome of the notions raised by Sir Arthur Lewis' consociational democracy. If, forthe sakeof simplicity,we wereto categorize democratic theories,we would list liberaland consociational as pragmatictheoriesconcernedwith abstract principlesas well as concreteissues, electoralsystems and laws, for example. Fanon belongs to a third trend that, for convenience, we shall refer to as radical social democracy,which differs from moderate social democracy.The moderate social democraticparties in power and in opposition in WesternEuropehavemoreor less acceptedthe liberalor neoliberal framework of their societies. The gaps and omissions in Fanon's theory lead one to pose the question of practice:is Fanon's participatory democratic vision feasible? We cannot point to any existing society as reflecting the idealmodel Fanonproposed. The emerging political model is anti-ThirdWorlddictatorships, it is decidedlynot Stalinist,and yet it is not fully liberaldemocratic. Like otherradicalsocialdemocrats beforehim, Fanonhad an optimistic belief in humannature. This is one more reason excessively why he spent little time suggestingrules,procedures, andmechanisms necessary to check the selfish aspects in all human beings. He placed great faith in sound leadership, in a strata of 'revolutionary intellectuals'who would resolve contractions inherentin class/ethnicfactorswhile facilitating participatory democracy. Fanon expects these revolutionary intellectuals to avoid the capital city and live amongthe ruralmasses.
47. Fanon, The Wretehedof the Earth, p.

113.

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Fanonis correctin arguingthat in all societiestherearecorruptas well as honest individuals. He gave various reasonsfor the presence of 'honest intellectuals',for instance,solid religiousand moralupbringingbeing one such explanation. However,he does not explainin a satisfactory manner how such honest intellectualsareableto gainpowerand to transferit to the people. In relyingonthe spontaneous virtuesof revolutionary intellectuals, Fanon neglectedto focus on the systematicchecksand balancesof power. Though he clearlydescribesthe naturaltensionbetweenpatrioticprinciples and the desire of neo-colonialpoliticiansto secure and maintainpolitical power,with regardto revolutionary intellectuals he doesnot seemto see that clashes between democraticprinciples and self-interest are unavoidable. Somewhatnaivelyhe assumesa greatdealof 'voluntarism' on the partof his 'revolutionary leaders' . In reality,in radical countriessuchasTanzania and Zimbabwe whichhaveadopteda leadership code,only a few leadersadhered to the preceptsof the code. Again, like otherradicalsocialdemocrats,Fanon'svision has a messianic touch. Paradoxically, this makes it both desirableand inapplicable. In attemptingto implementFanon'sideas, one would have to incorporate the practical andconcretemechanisms developedwithinthe contextof the other two trendsin democratic theory. Even thoughhumanbeings arepolitical animals (Aristotle) they are not exclusively political. While Fanon assumesextremelyhigh ratesof interestin politicalparticipation amongthe citizensof his democratic polity, politicalinterestsvary. He wishedto see democracy practisedin dailylife, not justeveryfouryearsor so: in factories, administrative offices,cooperative farms,schoolsanduniversities,as well as within the small armyand largemilitia forces. Radicalsocial democracy aims at transcendingvoting rights and relateddemocraticmechanismsin favour of day-to-day decentralizedparticipatorydecision making. He believedthatworkplace andcommunityparticipation offergreaterpotential for a democratizedpolitical culture than do sporadic campaigningand voting. Perhapsthe single most importantelement that glues Fanon's political thoughttogetheris his profoundfaithin the abilityof the ordinary peoplefor self-emancipation and self-rule. A numberof his otherwisecontradictory statementscan be reconciledin light of this progressiveoptimism on his part. This not only explainsmuch of his thinking,it is also the basisof his strategy for authentic decolonizationand democraticdevelopment. He repeatedly argued against the view that the mass of the population in Africadoes not understandor value democracyas patronizing,wrong and ultimatelydangerous. Beginningwith an existentialistinterest in individualfreedomand free choice,a process-oriented readingof Fanonshowsthathe continuesto stress the voluntaryrelationshipof individualsin the processof social choice as a

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518 necessary focus of democratictheory and practice. Praxis that only in specific taught Fanon communities marked by conditions of equality, autonomy, and relative self-reliance can individuals freedomsthroughtheirjoint obtain concrete labour Fanon'sstresson the peasantry andassociation. was partlyintendedto Worldsocialmovementsbe ensurethat Third genuine movementsof and for the majority thepeople. Fanon's of democratic thinkingdoes have a sion. This 'logicof the majoritarian dimenmajority' decisions in termsof whatwill be includesthe beliefin the evaluation of all most beneficialto the poor population. This is a majorityof the fundamentally democratic The process- and aspiration. product-oriented aspects of democracy are necessarily totally opposed to one not another. For example, Fanon andinferthatdemocracy (ameans)wouldfacilitate one can read desired end). This would be a (the partialreadingof Fanon.development freedom as man'soverriding He does regard goal,accordingly 'democracy' means for him is both a and an end. Fanon wished to provideless trols politicaland social conoveroutcomes,but a solid guarantee of the freeexpressionof and interestsof all membersof the needs society, especially the majoritywho were women andpeasants. Fanon advocatesan organic, self-centred ization. Thirty-two years ago he urged movementtoward democratthe developmentof political theories favouring indigenous democratization and participatory social development. He wished to see popular in variouslevels of decision making and administration participation and policies equity favouring distributive amongthe people. For him, this presupposedan democracy as a decision process understanding of constitutingpopularrule. The for social developmentis, therefore,a struggle strugglefor equal, voluntary autonomous,and participation in the activityof decentralized popularrule.

AFRICANAFFAIRS

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