Colonization and Democracy: An Experimental Analysis of Language in West Africa

• In Event: Historical Political Institutions in Africa and Asia

Abstract

How does the colonial legacy affect views of democracy in the former colonies? From a historical perspective the promotion of democracy in the developing world is not a recent phenomenon. If we look closely at the historical record it is arguable that it is traceable to the French Revolution and subsequent spread of those values (liberté) to other parts of the world. Scholars have called this process liberal imperialism and it is one that in Africa has been going on for centuries. In the eyes of people in these places it is also likely to be seen as colonial and oppressive. To this point, the elimination of Qaddafi from the political space in Africa has been noted by various presidents as the continued manifestation of this colonial mission. In this space, I claim that the legacy of colonization has left people across the region hostile to western, especially French policy including to policies about democratization. While people in these places might support democracy as a political system, they are less likely I argue to support it when it is associated with the former colonial power. To test this claim, I use a survey with questions on the demand for and supply of democracy in two West African countries (Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal). In each case, there are two versions of the survey including one presented in French and the other in an African languages (Dioula in Côte d’Ivoire and Wolof in Senegal). The expectation is that as a key aspect of the colonial mission, language will act as a framing device such that when presented in French respondents are likely to have a different frame-of-mind than when compared to those presented the survey in a local language. Relative to the African language, I expect that respondents will be less supportive of democracy and more likely to claim the country is democratic—i.e., less demand and more supply of democracy when presented in French. Findings indicate that language shapes views of democracy as hypothesized.

Author

• John Doces, Bucknell University