Disempowering New Democracies and the Persistence of Poverty

Abstract

In this paper , Thandika Mkandawire considers two processes taking place simultaneously in developing countries: the adoption of orthodox economic policies during a period of growing awareness of the pervasiveness and persistence of poverty, on the one hand, and the growing political empowerment of the majority of the population through processes of democratization, on the other hand. During the last decade, international conferences, pronouncements by international organizations and bilateral donors, campaigning by non-governmental organizations and the declarations of national governments have brought the issue of poverty back onto international and national agendas, following decades when it had been displaced by excessive focus on adjustment and stabilization. At the same time, significant steps have been made toward democracy in many countries. This wave of democratization has also served to highlight the blight of poverty, partly because of the greater transparency in...