| | Benin was an early example of transition from single-party rule to competitive multi-party politics, achieved through high levels of popular urban mobilisation in 1989-1990. This article analyses the causes of the downfall of the former regime, attributing it to the erosion of the state capacity and strength and to growing corruption, together with the expansion in the scope and strength of civil society and changes in consciousness arising from political struggle. The new regime is however limited in policy choice by debt and a structural adjustment programme, and has distanced itself rapidly from the workers and students who brought it to power. The immediate prognosis for democratic survival is thus poor. Discusses: What was changed; Political restructuring 1989-92; The elected government (1991-92); The sources of transformation; Democratic renewal? |
