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Globalization and the Localization of Politics in Africa

By Benson Onyeji.

Published by The Global Studies Journal

I apply the notion of localization of politics at two levels to describe how globalization is transforming the nature of politics in Africa, and to account for its consequences. Held together, and in concrete terms, I am referring both to the responses to and consequences of the neo-liberal policy framework that called for deregulation, liberalization, privatization, and decentralization of pre-existing socio-economic and cultural entities and institutions based on the assumption that these will promote economic growth and democratization. I dispute this assumption in this paper by focusing more specifically to examine the politics of the creation of autonomous communities in Mbieri, which is located in the South-East of Nigeria. In doing this, I attempt to expose the nature of this form of politics, and how it has served especially in extending the earlier migration of industrial capital from the core to the periphery by the penetration and fragmentation of the remote areas in the region. Though insufficient to warrant broad generalization, the evidence drawn from this case study does complement works done elsewhere, which show that the penetration of neo-liberal globalization into Africa’s local spaces has neither promoted democracy nor development as claimed. Instead, the restructuring process anchored on neo-colonial politics exacerbated underdevelopment beyond the level experienced at any time since the end of colonial rule.

Global Studies Journal, Volume 2, Issue 1, pp.73-94. Article: Print (Spiral Bound). Article: Electronic (PDF File; 4.853MB).

Dr. Benson Onyeji

Associate Professor, Department of History & Political Science, Manchester College, NORTH MANCHESTER, Indiana, USA